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Italian parliament votes for return to nuclear energy

908 points · 818 comments · geox

  1. reddalo · · focus · HN ↗
    I'm Italian and I'm super happy with this.

    The referendum that made nuclear energy illegal in Italy was held right after the accident of Chernobyl; people voted with their gut, not with their mind.

    Curiously enough, some Italian town signs still have a small sub-sign reading &quot;denuclearized municipality&quot; (example: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;live.staticflickr.com&#x2F;1421&#x2F;712461235_e46a2c7db5_z.jpg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;live.staticflickr.com&#x2F;1421&#x2F;712461235_e46a2c7db5_z.jp... )

    1. icantevenhold · · focus · HN ↗
      As someone who thinks nuclear is both less efficient and much more expensive than renewable energies - would you mind sharing a bit why this makes you happy?

      Since all plants in Italy are closed since the 90s won’t it take decades and billions of tax euros to get them back operational again?

      1. gignico · · focus · HN ↗
        The idea is to go to new-generation SMRs, not revive decades-old plants, which is actually impossible.
        1. icantevenhold · · focus · HN ↗
          Aren’t SMRs essentially unproven? I think only Russia and China built some working facilities, and the rest is still under construction.

          I mean anything could happen but seems like a long shot

          1. gignico · · focus · HN ↗
            They are, but if the country has a law forbidding you from doing anything, things cannot move forward. If they&#x27;ll not work, of course they won&#x27;t be built. And large classic reactors are unlikely to be built either, even with this new law.
            1. icantevenhold · · focus · HN ↗
              Gotcha - yea I think it’s a good idea to try out these things. I just hope it doesn’t become a ideological fight to make something work at any cost to fit a certain narrative (same goes for renewables of course)
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