Nuclear power, Pichetto: aiming to meet 10–15% of demand by 2040
The Minister at the Forum in Masseria: nuclear power will be a complementary source of energy, not a replacement. We are working to leave a stronger country for the younger generation
Key points
“It was pointed out that the only party in favour of nuclear power in the 1987 referendum was the Republican Party. At the time, I was the young secretary of the Republican Party and I remember a meeting in Piazza dei Caprettari where Giovanni Spadolini told us that we had to win the referendum. We ended up with 11%. But it is since then that I have been convinced of the need to invest in nuclear power. An energy source not to replace others but to complement other energy sources.
This was stated this morning during the Forum in Masseria organised by Bruno Vespa and Comin & Partners, as part of the panel discussion “From dependence to resilience: Italy’s new energy policy”, by the Minister for the Environment Gilberto Pichetto Fratin.
Finalise the regulatory framework by the end of the parliamentary term
“We relaunched this process two years ago,” added Pichetto Fratin, “with an in-depth analysis. We have tabled a bill that has been approved by the Chamber of Deputies and we now hope that it can be passed into law within the next year and a half. After that, there is the commitment of the Government and Prime Minister Meloni to finalise the regulatory framework with the implementing decrees by the end of the year. The timeline? That depends on research, experimentation and the technologies available. I would say 2033–34 could be the years when we actually get started. The aim is to cover 10–15% of our energy needs with nuclear power by 2040. We are working for the future of our children. We would like to leave behind a strong country; otherwise, the alternative is ‘happy degrowth’.
“We’ll see what happens in Geneva regarding excise duties”
But the Environment Minister, speaking at the Forum in Masseria as part of a panel that also included representatives from various companies – such as Andrea Cristini from Vexuvo, Salvatore Pinto of Axpo, Roberto Prioreschi of Impacta Strategy, and Emanuela Trentin of Veolia, also spoke about other sensitive issues in the energy sector, starting with the topic of excise duties. “Tomorrow or the day after in Geneva they will sign something regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, because all this certainly has consequences.”
Importing gas from Russia will not change the country’s fate
The minister also answered a question about whether it would be appropriate to return to importing gas from Russia. ‘Buying gas from Russia,’ he added, ‘may be beneficial at most to a single operator who can increase profit margins because, in any case, when the gas arrives in Europe, its reference price is set on the Amsterdam exchange. In short, it is not Russian gas that will change the country’s fortunes. What is having an impact is the war in the Middle East, which has removed 20% of energy supplies from the market. If the situation were to normalise and supplies were to resume, then the price of energy products could fall.”
