Italy Approves Nuclear Law After Nearly 40 Years

Italy Returns to Nuclear: Law Approved, Reactors Pending

Italy now possesses the legal framework to produce its own nuclear energy. What it lacks are operational plants, a firm schedule, or certainty about when the first will be ready. The Italian Parliament has definitively approved the nuclear law, and the country, after nearly forty years, once again has a regulatory structure for generating fission electricity. The key lies in the fine print: this is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition.

What the Newly Approved Italian Nuclear Law Changes

The argument favored by proponents of the law is straightforward: Italy currently imports electricity generated by nuclear power plants from neighboring countries but cannot produce it domestically. According to this reasoning, the law would provide greater energy security, reduce exposure to international crises that have impacted bills, and offer a stable, low-emission source that would complement renewables rather than replace them.

A third point frequently raised in discussions is the projected increase in electricity demand due to data centers and artificial intelligence, a load that cannot be met solely by intermittent sources. This sounds reasonable. The problem is that reasonable does not equate to buildable within a useful timeframe.

How Long Until Italy Has an Operational Nuclear Reactor?

Nobody knows, and the estimates circulating range from cautious to frankly biblical. One participant suggests a pair of new reactors by 2046, twenty years from now; others extend the horizon to 2056, 2066, and even 2089. The baseline cited for bureaucracy and technical studies alone is ten years, before any concrete is even moved.

The bottleneck is no longer technological but administrative and related to construction. One proposal suggests entrusting the work to South Korean contractors, who, according to the comment, have demonstrated rapid construction paces. The accompanying warning is equally clear: if the design and execution fall into French hands, the commenter asserts, deadlines will inevitably stretch.

Hinkley Point C: The €150/MWh Benchmark in the Debate

The specter mentioned in the discussion is British. According to one comment, the Hinkley Point C plant has accumulated years of delays, billions in cost overruns, and a guaranteed fixed price now hovering around €150/MWh. For context, the same comment compares this to the average price of the Spanish electricity market in 2025, projected at €65/MWh. More than double, and someone ultimately pays that difference.

A figure without substantiation is also circulating: a public mega-contract of €50 billion that could balloon to €90 billion with cost overruns, along with suspicions of awarding the contract to ENEL and subsequent electricity bill increases. And the question remains, posed by another participant, where will the uranium come from and at what price?

What Spain Observes from the Sidelines

One comment ironically touches on the Spanish situation: if such a project were tendered in Spain, the commenter argues, design and execution would go to the best-connected, not the most competent.

With these factors in play, the recurring prediction is that Italy will have a nuclear law long before it has reactors, and that the first pair of reactors, if they materialize, will arrive in a decade that sounds like science fiction today. How much before 2046, the most optimistic date cited, is anyone's guess.