Rome is charting a course for revival as Minister Pichetto Fratin outlines plans to phase out coal. With rising energy demand and investments in data centres and AI from BlackRock and Microsoft, nuclear power is seen as a stable complement to intermittent renewables
Nuclear energy revival. During a hearing before the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Minister of Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin outlined Italy’s roadmap for reviving nuclear energy production.
- By the end of October, the National Platform for Sustainable Nuclear Energy will present their findings.
- It will be followed by a draft bill in late 2024 to enable nuclear energy production with new, sustainable technologies. Parliamentary review is expected in early 2025.
- In the meantime, legal studies will be conducted, and research will continue on modernizing and possibly expanding facilities for radioactive waste disposal. A national body may also be established to coordinate these efforts.
Italy lags behind. Speaking at the Formiche magazine’s “20 di crescita” event in Rome, Minister Pichetto Fratin acknowledged that Italy lags behind other European countries due to its historical reliance on oil, coal, and gas.
- However, the government aims to phase out coal, at least on a continental scale, and shift toward renewable energy sources like hydropower, geothermal, solar, and wind.
- Despite their potential, these renewables are intermittent, and to address this, the minister pointed to new nuclear energy as a stable solution to fill the gap.
An opportunity for growth. During his address, Minister Pichetto Fratin highlighted that new-generation nuclear energy could provide Italy with a significant opportunity.
- With industrial production rising, living standards improving, and the increasing use of IT infrastructure such as data centres and artificial intelligence, energy demand will inevitably grow.
- Recently, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with executives from BlackRock and Microsoft, both of whom are committed to investing in Italy’s AI and data centre sectors, which require a reliable energy supply.
