Italy Senate approves delegation law for sustainable nuclear energy

The Italian Senate has officially approved a delegation law regarding ‘sustainable nuclear energy’. The legislation does not authorize immediate reactor construction but mandates that the government draft regulatory frameworks within twelve months. These decrees will address nuclear production, fuel reprocessing, waste management, and decommissioning. The government aims to integrate nuclear power into the national energy mix to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, enhance energy security, and reduce costs.

The move has sparked significant debate. Supporters, including government officials, view it as a courageous step toward energy independence. Critics, including various political parties and environmentalists, argue the law is a ‘empty box’ or question its sustainability and its alignment with previous national referendums that rejected nuclear power. Some experts suggest the timeline for new plants, potentially as early as 2033-2035, remains ambitious given bureaucratic and technical hurdles.

In San Marino, the movement Domani Motus Liberi has called for a technical-political table to evaluate advanced nuclear technologies, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). They noted that San Marino already relies on nuclear-derived energy from France for approximately 4.07% of its national energy mix.