{"id":447240,"date":"2026-03-10T18:59:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T17:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/03\/10\/energia-lue-punta-su-nucleare-fonti-pulite-e-investimenti-nelle-reti-per-tagliare-dipendenze-e-costi\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T20:03:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T19:03:17","slug":"energy-the-eu-focuses-on-nuclear-power-clean-sources-and-investments-in-networks-to-reduce-dependence-and-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/03\/10\/energy-the-eu-focuses-on-nuclear-power-clean-sources-and-investments-in-networks-to-reduce-dependence-and-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy: the EU focuses on nuclear power, clean sources, and investments in networks to reduce dependence and costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – Nuclear power, clean energy, investment in networks: these are the European Commission’s watchwords for achieving lower bills for citizens and a European supply that is no longer dependent on geopolitical developments<\/strong>. Brussels’ goal is to break free from dependence on third-country sources and to “focus on European content,” building a “robust EU supply chain” to reduce import dependencies and ensure strategic autonomy. These are the strategic objectives of the new strategy<\/a> approved by the College of Commissioners today (10 March) in Strasbourg and presented by Teresa Ribera<\/strong>, Vice-President of the EU Executive for a Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition, and Dan J\u00f8rgensen<\/strong>, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing. “The situation in Iran reminds us of a simple truth: locally produced clean energy is the only lasting solution for the EU to break the cycle of fossil fuel dependency and price volatility,” Ribera noted. “Today we adopt a package to progress in our endeavour and back citizens to get lower energy bills. We want to ensure the right investing conditions to channel private capital into our clean, affordable, and homegrown energy systems,” she explained. The package mainly identifies three initiatives: the Clean Energy Investment Strategy<\/strong>, the Citizens Energy Package<\/strong>, and the Strategy for Small Modular Reactors<\/strong>.<\/span> <\/p>\n

The Clean Energy Investment Strategy aims to bridge the gap between available private capital and the substantial investments needed for networks, innovative technologies, and energy efficiency measures<\/strong>. “The transition to clean energy will require investments of \u20ac660 billion per year until 2030, rising to \u20ac695 billion per year in the following decade,” the Commission states. And although public funding plays “a key role as a catalyst,” Brussels knows that “it will not be enough to meet these needs.” Therefore, the transition to clean energy will require “a substantially greater mobilisation of private capital,” which, however, “already exists.” In particular, “institutional investors control over \u20ac12 trillion in assets in Europe and are looking for the stable, long-term returns that energy projects can offer<\/strong>.” The key question is how to effectively channel this capital into the transition to clean energy.” This is where the Strategy comes in. Brussels will work closely with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group<\/strong>, which intends to deliver over \u00a375 billion in financing over the next three years to support the energy transition<\/strong>. To attract institutional investors such as pension funds, insurers, and sovereign wealth funds, which currently allocate only a small portion of their portfolios to clean energy, the strategy proposes tailored financial mechanisms: one approach involves securitising future revenue streams, such as regulated network tariffs or renewable energy payments, converting them into high-quality, tradable securities that offer the stable, long-term returns required by institutional investors; another solution is the use of hybrid bonds, which allow network operators and energy companies to raise capital without exceeding debt limits, making these investments more attractive to risk-averse institutions. In addition, the new Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund supported by the EIB will co-invest directly in projects alongside infrastructure funds and asset managers. “By standardising these instruments and ensuring solid credit ratings, the strategy aims to unlock a significant new source of capital for the energy transition,” the Commission pointed out. <\/p>\n

Furthermore, to address the problems that electricity network operators<\/strong> (transmission and distribution system operators) face in accessing long-term capital<\/strong> due to a lack of equity capital, liquidity constraints, and market fragmentation, the Strategy provides for a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, it introduces measures to strengthen the financial position of electricity network operators by increasing their equity capital through a new Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund (SII) supported by the EIB, with a budget of up to \u20ac500 million<\/strong>, and by proposing a revenue securitisation instrument. On the other hand, the strategy will strengthen banks’ lending capacity by expanding loan securitisation and supporting smaller operators through EIB-guaranteed intermediated loans. <\/p>\n

At the same time, the Commission presented the Citizens’ Energy Package, which aims to reduce bills, increase the transparency of energy contracts, and enable citizens to produce and share their own clean energy. The strategy seeks to provide concrete support because, as J\u00f8rgensen pointed out, “too many families are struggling to pay their bills.” Among the proposals recommended to governments to reduce bills are faster supplier switching, flexible contracts, tax relief, charges on electricity bills and greater transparency in information on energy contracts and bills<\/strong>. Added to these are measures to promote renewables and energy efficiency. “Part of our package focuses on citizens,” J\u00f8rgensen specified. “We have a very clear recommendation to Member States: if you could reduce taxes on energy, particularly on electricity, the potential would be enormous. On average, the potential for energy bills in Europe would be a saving of \u20ac200 per year by reducing taxes,” he said. In particular, “we also want to make it quicker and easier to switch energy suppliers to help consumers, thus taking advantage of competition in the market. This would lead to an average annual saving of \u20ac152 if fully implemented. And finally, we really need to promote electricity contracts, flexible and smart electricity contracts and smart energy devices. This can, in some cases, reduce energy bills by up to 40 per cent,” she stressed, pointing out that the intention is also to “protect the most vulnerable citizens and give local communities the tools to produce their own energy.” <\/p>\n

Finally, the central chapter of the Package is the strengthening of European leadership in net-zero emission technologies<\/strong>. Here, the Commission presented the Small Modular Reactors (SMR) Strategy<\/strong>, which aims to develop SMRs from 2030 onwards, while accelerating the development of advanced nuclear projects in parallel. Brussels intends to support industrial development through the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs<\/a> and, in light of the call for proposals under the Innovation Fund in relation to SMR projects, the European Commission will consider a further temporary allocation of \u20ac200 million from InvestEU until 2028 for the development of innovative nuclear technologies, including low-frequency nuclear reactors (SMR) using light water, typically developed from existing water-cooled nuclear reactors; advanced modular reactors (AMRs), which use innovative concepts and new generation (Generation IV) designs with different coolants (liquid metal, molten salts or high-temperature gases) or new types of nuclear fuel; microreactors, which typically produce less than 10 megawatts of electricity, have long refuelling cycles and can be transported. The resources, derived from revenues from the Emission Trading System (ETS)<\/strong>, will temporarily supplement the InvestEU programme. The plan leverages nine key actions to foster the development of the industrial environment, including the launch of a ‘coalition of the willing’ among the 27 Member States on regulatory and economic issues to facilitate the introduction of models in their territories. The aim is to build “a robust and scalable European supply chain, strengthening skills, regulatory cooperation, and safety standards<\/strong>.” In particular, the European Commission encourages a strategic approach to mini reactors, which “‘should be considered a shared European industrial project, based on strong EU collaboration on research, supply chain, licensing, skills, and financing.” The EU industrial alliance on mini reactors should identify a limited number of “most promising” projects to support, adopt a “fleet approach” to mini reactor deployment, and focus on an important project of common European interest (IPCEI) on innovative nuclear technologies. Countries are also encouraged to simplify administrative procedures for export controls between Member States. <\/p>\n

For Brussels, the use of SMRs by 2050 could save the EU up to 60 billion cubic metres of gas<\/strong>, which is equivalent to the total electricity consumption of Malta, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Greece. More broadly, EU actions to accelerate the benefits of the clean transition “will reduce EU spending on fossil fuel imports year after year, reaching savings of \u20ac130 billion per year by 2030.” But the issue is not just about energy; it is also about security and independence. “Our dependence on imported fossil fuels exposes Europe to vulnerabilities that directly affect citizens and businesses. The safest way to obtain affordable energy and ensure security of supply is to rely on clean energy technologies developed internally. Small modular reactors (SMRs) could become one of the next big industrial development projects in Europe,” writes the Commission. <\/p>\n

Ursula von der Leyen<\/b> had already announced<\/b><\/a> this morning that a nuclear energy package would be presented: she did so in her introductory speech at the second World Nuclear Energy Summit. <\/b><\/a>“We must also strengthen the entire nuclear ecosystem, from fuel to technology, from supply chains to skills<\/strong>,” explained von der Leyen this morning in Paris. “This is also the goal of our Clean Energy Investment Strategy: to reduce energy costs, accelerate the deployment of clean technologies, and expand financing opportunities,” she added. <\/p>\n

The new strategy approved today builds on the Action Plan for Affordable Energy, adopted in February 2025<\/a><\/strong>, which presented actions to reduce energy bills in the short term, while also targeting more structural measures to modernise the European energy system, ensure stable and predictable energy costs, increase efficiency and expand renewable energy production, ensuring that businesses can remain competitive while consumers benefit from affordable energy. In December, the EU presented the European Networks Package to modernise the EU’s energy infrastructure and increase energy security. As part of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028\u20132034 (MFF), the EU Commission has proposed to increase the CEF budget for energy (the Connecting Europe Facility) fivefold, from \u20ac5.84 billion to \u20ac29.91 billion.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The “Energy for Citizens” package seeks to provide concrete support for Europeans because, as Commissioner J\u00f8rgensen pointed out, “too many families are struggling to pay their bills”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7896,"featured_media":447215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[30800],"tags":[25871,25911,30592,25866,27013,26655,31470,27342,25992,27344,29318,29036,25921],"class_list":["post-447240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-bei-en","tag-dan-jorgensen-and","tag-energy-en","tag-european-bank-for-investment-en","tag-financialframework-pluriennial-en","tag-nadia-calvino-en","tag-energia-nucleare-en","tag-nucleare-en","tag-small-reactors-modular-en","tag-strasbourg-en","tag-teresa-ribera-en","tag-von-der-leyen-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7896"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447240"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":447241,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447240\/revisions\/447241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}