Amy Kazmin in Orvieto reports on the debate over Italy's energy future as Giorgia Meloni pushes a nuclear revival, while local resident Monica Tommasi battles wind turbines near her home. Tommasi, president of Friends of the Earth Italy, says the 42 MW RWE wind farm with seven 200‑m turbines will scar the Umbrian landscape and deliver little reliable power, prompting her support for nuclear. She argues that Italy once generated nuclear power until public backlash shut it down, and that modern small modular reactors (SMRs) are a cleaner, less intrusive alternative.

Meloni's government has fast‑tracked a framework law enabling SMRs, and Newcleo's Stefano Buono says industrialists are already seeking licenses. The law, expected to pass the Senate soon, gives Rome 12 months to set up a regulator and waste rules. Critics, including climate activists and renewables firms, say the nuclear push distracts from quicker decarbonisation, while Confindustria urges an emergency renewables boost.

Environment minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin cites Italy's hilly terrain as a barrier to large‑scale solar and wind, and nuclear advocates such as Francesco Pratesi argue it preserves landscape and agriculture. Italy's fraught nuclear history—from 1960s adoption to Chernobyl and Fukushima referendums—adds complexity to the debate.

Orvieto remains a focal point of both wind turbine opposition and nuclear aspirations, highlighting the clash between traditional energy sources and emerging technologies.