The Italian government may soon approve a law enabling the use of nuclear energy in Italy by 2027, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin told Il Sole 24 Ore in a Jan. 23 interview. Fratin has drafted a bill to regulate the use of nuclear energy in Italy, which he said will be sent to the Council of Ministers shortly. Italian voters rejected nuclear power in two referendums — one in 1987 and one in 2011— and the country phased out nuclear entirely by 1990. Nonetheless, Fratin has proposed that nuclear could supply between 11% and 22% of Italy’s electricity by 2050. This follows the parliament’s passage in May 2023 of motions committing the government to evaluate adding nuclear to its energy mix but also urging the government to create a national deposit for radioactive waste, consider small modular reactors and advanced reactors, support nuclear research and training and join the EU nuclear alliance.
