Italy may call a referendum on the return of nuclear energy In 2028 or 2029. This is the prediction of the Minister of the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who spoke to journalists on Sunday during an energy event in Turin.
The announcement comes in the same week that the Italian Senate is expected to give final approval to a law that authorizes the use of nuclear energy in the country, based on small modular reactors.
According to the minister, taking the issue to a popular consultation is a way to guarantee citizen participation in the decision. He stated that the government's priority is to offer clarity and transparency regarding the plan to resume nuclear energy production.
According to the proposal under consideration, the return of nuclear energy would occur through small modular reactors, a technology considered more flexible than large traditional power plants. However, the first plants are only expected to become operational between 2033 and 2034.
Two previous rejections
Italy has already abandoned nuclear energy twice by popular decision. The first time was in 1986, shortly after the Chernobyl disaster in the then Soviet Union. The second time was in 2011, the same year as the Fukushima accident in Japan.
This history helps explain why the government is now betting on a new referendum to legitimize the resumption of activities. The date is not yet set, but the minister is working with the possibility of holding the consultation in 2028 or 2029.
The timeline for the plan also remains open. Even with the likely approval of the law this week, energy production on Italian soil would still depend on years of construction and licensing before any power plant could begin operating.
