Italy's Senate approves nuclear power return after 40-year hiatus
Parliament clears path for small modular reactors, marking Meloni government's shift on energy security and climate goals.
What to know
- Italy's Senate voted 81–51 to approve legislation enabling nuclear power's return nearly 40 years after Chernobyl prompted its abandonment, establishing a regulatory framework for next-generation small modular reactors.
- The government has 12 months to draft implementing decrees on licensing, safety, waste management, and site selection; actual reactor construction remains years away and requires further approvals.
- Public support has shifted, with about 55% of Italians backing next-generation nuclear plants (strongest among younger voters), though majorities oppose plants near their homes and local communities are expected to resist future sites.
- Meloni's government frames nuclear as essential for energy independence amid climate pressures and post-Ukraine security concerns, while opposition parties argue safety risks and high construction costs outweigh benefits.
“Sustainable nuclear power, together with renewable energy sources, will make Italy a safe, independent and competitive country.”
Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Environment and Energy Security Minister · Straits Times ↗
Giorgia Meloni Prime Minister of ItalyGilberto Pichetto Fratin Environment and Energy Security MinisterElena Sironi Five Star Movement senator
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
-
1
Italy's Senate approves nuclear energy legislation
The upper house voted 81–51 with seven abstentions to give final approval to legislation establishing a legal framework for nuclear power's return. The bill earlier passed the lower Chamber of Deputies and authorizes the government to draft implementing decrees over the next 12 months covering reactor licensing, safety standards, waste management, and site criteria.
“Nuclear isn't a return to the past. When integrated with renewables, it's a winning technology, which can give extraordinary results for our energy security.”
— Gilberto Pichetto Fratin -
first by Philadelphia Inquirer, 15h ago · also Bloomberg Politics, Breitbart, HN Best, HN Frontpage, Courthouse News, Japan Today +1
6 more headlines
- Italy Approves Return of Nuclear Power After Four-Decade Ban Bloomberg Politics · 15h ago
- Italy Overturns Post-Chernobyl Ban on Nuclear Energy, Clears Way to Build New Plants Breitbart · 14h ago
- Italian parliament votes for return to nuclear energy HN Best · 13h ago
- 40 years after Chernobyl, Italy greenlights a return to nuclear energy Philadelphia Inquirer · 13h ago
- Italy greenlights return to nuclear energy Japan Today · 9h ago
- Italy greenlights return of nuclear power after decades-long ban SCMP · 2h ago
-
first by FT, 15h ago
-
China is building nuclear reactors faster than any other country: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38485137Belgium stops decommissioning nuclear power plants: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47961319Canada plans 'nuclear renaissance' with up to 10 reactors built by 2040: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48634585Its important to…
2 more of the top 3 · 34 posts in this stretch
-
My profile picture has a U.S. flag, Reagan and a Lesbian Pride flag in it. I can assure you I'm neither American, Ronald Reagan, nor a lesbian.
-
People usually do not include the costs of actual insurance into those calculations. If you do you end up with much higher prices per kWh for nuclear.Additional cost estimate in numbers per kWhNumbers:Germany: + 0.139€-2.36 €/kWhJapan: + $0.22–5.78/kWhI could not find numbers for the US, but you guys have the Price-Anderson Act that limits the…
-
-
background
Opposition parties urge siting restrictions and land preservation — Centre-left opposition, including the Five Star Movement, largely opposed the measure and called for new plants to be located only in already-developed, degraded, or previously industrialized areas without consuming additional land.
-
background
Public support for nuclear rising, strongest among younger Italians — A June 2026 survey by research firm Only Numbers found approximately 55% of Italians support next-generation nuclear plants, with backing strongest among younger generations who lack direct memory of Chernobyl. A separate Demopolis poll found 51% support, though a majority opposed construction of plants near their homes.
-
background
Government framework targets small modular reactors over traditional plants — Rather than reviving large reactors like those decommissioned after a 1987 referendum, Meloni's government is focusing on small modular reactors (SMRs) and other advanced technologies framed as safer, more flexible, and quicker to build. The legislation does not authorize construction of any reactors but creates the regulatory foundation needed before future projects can be proposed.
What people are saying 21 voices from 1 site · best of 34 · verbatim
- Today
-
I agree with everything you said but want to add some more about the Price-Anderson Act. It does a few things:1. It caps the liability for an incident at a single reactor. It goes up with inflation and I believe it's currently $500 million;2. It establishes an industry-wide secondary self-insurance fund for broader incidents and caps liability. I…
-
Yeah but we are su subsidizing so much stupid stuff in the world, that dont need to be. Safe and clean energy is on top of my list of things i am very much ok with.
-
Countries can also buy Uranium from their favorite fossil fuel country.Saudi Arabia discovers 110 million tonnes of uranium-bearing ore in Medina:
- Yesterday
-
That's why I think lifters are really the only true path to cost reasonable nuclear power... They "burn" almost all fuel and have separation procedures for the other fission products, and I believe they can consume nuclear waste since it's a breeder reactor.
-
Also, dealing with the nuclear waste can be problematic. Even if you recycle it like France, it still costs to re-enrich it and still produces waste itself.
-
The enduring fascination of isotopes and neutrons zipping in and out...Taking a look at the costs (not to mention genuine safety and sustainability in the long run): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_sourceIn the current landscape—with the costs of solar and wind power steadily falling and storage technologies emerging, driven…
-
Brace yourself, every large nuclear accident has been preceded by the Italian considering nuclear again. (Well at least Tchornobyl and Fukushima, ”which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice”)
-
I don’t know why commenters here are treating energy technologies as winner-takes-all. Solar is cheap and getting cheaper, and that’s fantastic news for everyone, but that doesn’t mean it suits every country, every niche, and every application. There are plenty of places that don’t have massive tracts of spare flat land, or the right latitude, or…
-
I wonder how much of a factor is that nuclear plants are effectively "unbombable". Ukraine's thermal plants have taken a beating, but their nuclear plants are still generating.
-
This is somewhat strange. Italy has a lot of sun, and a lot of mountains for these pumped storage hydropower plants. It is way harder to store output from PV on Great European Plain.
-
115 $/MWh.Thats what EDF's stating their NUWARD SMR (up to 400MW) will cost in France, just as comparison. Not cheap for the taxpayers in Italy.
-
Always funny to see how plutonium pilled hn is. Nuclear power in Italy is idiotic. They won't even be able to cool the damn reactors. Europe is drying out.
-
Can someone explain me like I’m a middle age person why Italy, and France, bet on nuclear fission?It’s not competitive on cost anymore and we don’t have a good track record.
-
Has there been a single SMR deployed and working yet? There were lots of talk about GE BWRX-300 and Rolls Royce SMR but none of them seems to have even started construction.
-
Fun fact: in the 60s Italy was after the US and UK the county with the most advanced nuclear energy plants. These days still North Italy produces key parts of nuclear reactors in other countries.
-
Hopefully Germany will follow next. It’s absurd that they rely on fossil fuel and coal when they can build modern nuclear plants that can provide stable energy for the energy heavy industries.It would take 5-10 years to build the power plants and maybe with Chinese aid even faster
-
I agree, I tell everyone who will listen that no country, not Russia, China, Japan, France, USA etc has ever made nuclear power profitable. And you can't blame it on the environmentalists in China and Russia.That being said, many countries consider it a national security issue not to be held hostage to foreign oil.
-
I've seen quite a few SMR proposals over the last couple of years and not a single one that dared to address the whole cycle from deployment to eventual decommission as a function of the total revenues - costs to operate. Most of these projects seem to be made to bilk investors or governments rather than to actually produce power. The day Italy…
-
I'm Italian and I'm super happy with this.The referendum that made nuclear energy illegal in Italy was held right after the accident of Chernobyl; people voted with their gut, not with their mind.Curiously enough, some Italian town signs still have a small sub-sign reading "denuclearized municipality" (example…
-
>Rather than reviving the large reactors of the past, the government is focusing on small modular reactors, or SMRs, and other advanced technologies that supporters say could be safer, more flexible and quicker to build.>The legislation does not authorize the construction of any reactors. Instead, it creates the regulatory foundation needed before…
-
It is sad that this has become a topic of the culture wars. Nothing good comes out of this, certainly not a rational weighing of the pros and cons of nuclear power.I’m particularly interested in how they plan to finance reactors in a grid dominated by solar. I wouldn’t be surprised if they legally allow the building of new reactors but then fail…