Deputy Premier and Transport and
Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said on Tuesday he would
ask for the creation of a technical task force on nuclear power
on the basis that ideology must not preclude any form of energy
supply.
"I will ask the ministers in charge for a technical task force
on nuclear power in the coming days, because obviously on the
front of technological neutrality we cannot say no to an energy
source on the basis of prejudice," said Salvini at the
inauguration of a dynamic lane on the A4 motorway in Milan.
"It is important that ideology does not preclude any source of
energy supply," he insisted.
Italy closed its nuclear plants in 1990 after the 1987
referendum on atomic energy following the Chernobyl disaster.
However, there have been calls for a rethink of the ban, given
that nuclear energy has a low carbon footprint and there is a
need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet European and
international targets for combating the climate crisis.
The country is also looking to boost its energy security
following Russia's war of invasion in Ukraine.
Last month Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto
Pichetto Fratin said renewables such as hydro-electric,
geothermal, solar and wind will probably not be enough on their
own to replace fossil fuels and that it will probably be
necessary to have nuclear power in the energy mix too.
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