The new nuclear. The so-called fourth generation can represent an important driver of wealth for the country. The added value created could be 45 billion and the stable jobs created 52 thousand. This is the effect that investment in the construction of electricity production plants from this source could have in Italy, according to estimates from a preliminary analysis carried out by OpenEconomics on behalf of Inrete, on the occasion of the 21st edition of Italia Direzione Nord, held at the Stelline Foundation in Milan. The study concerns an energy scenario currently being evaluated by the government, which foresees investments of around 38 billion euros. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, spoke from the executive’s ranks, stating that he is not “frightened by someone’s controversy about nuclear energy if the future of the country is at stake”. Politics must express values, but it must also be based on numbers, on facts”. Salvini intends to “be a minister based on numbers, objectivity and not ideology” and recalled how “the European Commission itself” “recognized nuclear energy as a renewable and virtuous source of energy, so much so that it is recognized in the taxonomy among financeable sources “.
In a videoconference, the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, defined it as a “positive first step” for everyone to now talk about nuclear energy, “after I released nuclear energy with the sustainable nuclear platform”. He explained that even according to “research, it seems that awareness of nuclear energy for the future continues to increase: it is no longer what inspires terror and fear. The nuclear energy of the future that I am referring to is the fourth generation.” And with regard to small reactors, Pichetto is convinced that «it will not be the State that creates the plants, but companies, consortiums and cities. The State will have a role in granting licenses and authorizations for installing systems, as happens today for photovoltaic and wind energy.”
Nicola Monti, CEO of Edison, also spoke about a more open attitude towards nuclear energy, explaining that he carried out “surveys to understand the attitude of Italians towards nuclear energy”, as “progressively over the last 12 months public opinion has started the change to a relative majority in favor, especially young people aged 18 to 35.” Even in the world of industry, nuclear energy was defined as “fundamental if we want to achieve energy security and independence so as not to find ourselves in a situation like that where we found ourselves in the past”, as highlighted by the president of Assolombarda, Alessandro Spada, recalling that for the association, nuclear energy is a topic that “it has been pursuing for several years”. Speaking of small modular reactors, he added: « I think there will also be space to have them in Lombardy: they will be useful above all for companies that are particularly energy intensive».
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
