Italy greenlights return of nuclear power after decades-long ban

Italy’s Senate has given final approval to legislation that sets up the legal route for the country to reintroduce nuclear power, nearly 40 years after the Chernobyl disaster led it to abandon atomic energy.

Senate clears the measure

The measure passed the upper house 81-51, with seven abstentions, after it had earlier cleared the lower Chamber of Deputies.

The vote is a central step in Premier Giorgia Meloni’s push to strengthen energy security and meet climate goals, though any construction of possible new reactors remains years away.

What the law allows

The bill establishes a legal framework for next-generation nuclear technologies.

It authorises the government to draft implementing decrees over the next 12 months on reactor licensing, safety standards, waste management and criteria for future sites.

That means the approval does not immediately restart nuclear generation, but begins the regulatory process needed before any future projects can move ahead.

Why the vote matters

The decision puts Italy on a path towards reintroducing nuclear power after voters twice rejected it in national referendums.

The first rejection came in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, and the second followed Japan’s Fukushima accident in 2011.

Nearly four decades after Chernobyl reshaped Italy’s energy policy, Parliament has now cleared a framework intended to make next-generation reactors legally possible again.

Source: South China Morning Post