Italy’s cabinet took a significant step towards potentially reopening the debate on nuclear power, signalling a shift in policy that could break nearly four decades of opposition to the energy source. However, experts caution that any revival would take at least a decade to materialise.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government argues that nuclear energy could be crucial in enhancing Italy’s energy security while also reducing its carbon emissions and high electricity costs. Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin set a 2026 deadline to establish a legal framework that would cover everything from conventional reactors to next-generation nuclear technologies.
However, critics argue that nuclear energy remains far more expensive than other low-carbon alternatives, is time-consuming to implement, and could provide a convenient excuse to delay the phase-out of natural gas—a major contributor to climate change.
In neighbouring France, the latest generation of nuclear plants faced massive cost overruns and delays, with one plant taking 12 years longer to complete than initially planned, costing four times the original estimate.
Luca Bergamaschi from Italy’s ECCO climate think tank suggested that, at best, Italy would not see nuclear power reintroduced before 2035.
Italy was once a leader in nuclear power, but following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, Italians overwhelmingly voted to shut down nuclear facilities. The last of Italy’s reactors closed in 1990, and a subsequent referendum in 2011 following the Fukushima accident further solidified opposition.
Today, Italy lacks a national repository for nuclear waste, as over 50 proposed sites have refused to host it. However, Energy Minister Pichetto Fratin has signalled that the government will pursue not just fission reactors but also research into fusion energy.
The new legal framework will focus on everything from the research and development of new reactors to the dismantling of old plants and managing radioactive waste.
Italy currently has no new sites or projects identified for nuclear development, but discussions are ongoing between energy company Enel, engineering firm Ansaldo, and defence contractor Leonardo to establish a state-backed company aimed at developing small modular reactors (SMRs). These advanced reactors have about one-third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear reactors and are considered cheaper to produce and faster to build, though they remain experimental.
Italy is not the only country revisiting nuclear energy in the wake of the global energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. Other nations, such as the UK, are also speeding up nuclear initiatives, with a focus on mini-nuclear reactors.
While some in Italy’s business sector have suggested reactivating old reactors or bypassing local opposition to new nuclear sites, climate experts remain skeptical.
