‹ BackHN Continuity

Thread

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. preisschild · · focus · HN ↗
          Countries should definitely evaluate LMRs (Large Modular Reactors) too. Most countries need large amounts of carbon free energy, not small amounts. And nuclear power plant economics have profited in the past from making larger, more powerful reactor units.

          But yeah their most modern nuclear power plant was a BWR 4 with Mark II containment, which would probably not be worth modernizing instead of building a new GenIII+ PWR from scratch that lasts a century.

Open on Hacker News to reply ↗

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.