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  • 115 $/MWh.

    Thats what EDF's stating their NUWARD SMR (up to 400MW) will cost in France, just as comparison. Not cheap for the taxpayers in Italy.

    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/frances-edf-plans-10...

    by kimovski
  • I don’t know why commenters here are treating energy technologies as winner-takes-all. Solar is cheap and getting cheaper, and that’s fantastic news for everyone, but that doesn’t mean it suits every country, every niche, and every application. There are plenty of places that don’t have massive tracts of spare flat land, or the right latitude, or favorable weather. Even if nuclear isn’t ever the cheapest option, the world energy market is so huge and diverse that it still makes sense to have nuclear as an option.
    by jl6
  • People usually do not include the costs of actual insurance into those calculations. If you do you end up with much higher prices per kWh for nuclear.

    Additional cost estimate in numbers per kWh

    Numbers:

    Germany: + 0.139€-2.36 €/kWh

    Japan: + $0.22–5.78/kWh

    I could not find numbers for the US, but you guys have the Price-Anderson Act that limits the liability of nuclear operators.

    Sources:

    https://www.versicherungsforen.net/schaden-leistung/berechnu...

    https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/12/1301

    https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF1082...

    The German study is not undisputed, but the opposing side was funded by nuclear industry, while the original study was done by insurance providers and aligns with the Japanese results.

    Neither study considered terror, or hybrid warfare as additional risks.

    Given the amount of sabotage we see in Europe at the moment, premiums would probably be even higher.

    by niemandhier
  • >Rather than reviving the large reactors of the past, the government is focusing on small modular reactors, or SMRs, and other advanced technologies that supporters say could be safer, more flexible and quicker to build.

    >The legislation does not authorize the construction of any reactors. Instead, it creates the regulatory foundation needed before future projects can be proposed, assessed and approved.

    Giant step for SMRs. I'm hopefull for greater NATO collaboration regarding energy security if SMRs prove commercially viable.

    by MadrasThorn
  • It is sad that this has become a topic of the culture wars. Nothing good comes out of this, certainly not a rational weighing of the pros and cons of nuclear power.

    I’m particularly interested in how they plan to finance reactors in a grid dominated by solar. I wouldn’t be surprised if they legally allow the building of new reactors but then fail to find investors. But perhaps they plan on using them as some sort of strategic assets and will just run them at a loss?

    by adrianN
  • China is building nuclear reactors faster than any other country: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38485137

    Belgium stops decommissioning nuclear power plants: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47961319

    Canada plans 'nuclear renaissance' with up to 10 reactors built by 2040: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48634585

    Its important to remember that nuclear needs water and is not immune to climate change. France and Switzerland shut down nuclear power plants amid scorching heatwave: https://www.euronews.com/2025/07/02/france-and-switzerland-s...

    And maybe unknown future costs. Government awards $45B to company treating over 50M gallons of leaking radioactive waste: 'One of our nation's most important environmental challenges': https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/hanford-nuclear-s...

    Admiral Rickover's 'Paper Reactor' memo: https://whatisnuclear.com/rickover.html

    by thelastgallon
  • 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 "denuclearized municipality" (example: https://live.staticflickr.com/1421/712461235_e46a2c7db5_z.jp... )

    by reddalo
  • I've seen quite a few SMR proposals over the last couple of years and not a single one that dared to address the whole cycle from deployment to eventual decommission as a function of the total revenues - costs to operate. Most of these projects seem to be made to bilk investors or governments rather than to actually produce power. The day Italy produces the first KWh that is net profitable to the operators without counting subsidies I will be highly amazed, and that's assuming they get to operational in the first place.
    by jacquesm

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