Sir, – I wish to add support to your leading article of January 5th calling for action in 2014 on global warming. It is becoming increasingly obvious that we must reduce our carbon emissions by reducing our use of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) by replacing them with renewables and nuclear power.
In the Irish situation there is a misconception that renewables, notably wind, will alone solve all our energy problems. This cannot be the case due to wind’s intermittency and to the necessity of providing back-up fossil fuel electricity generators for when the wind fails.
I am delighted to see that the leader suggests that modern nuclear power be considered for Ireland as this is the aim of our advocacy group BENE (Better Environment with Nuclear Energy: see bene.ie). Many professional bodies such as ESB, Eirgrid, Forfás, ICTU and IBEC have expressed the same opinion.
Nuclear power is the only source of low carbon, clean, base¨-load electricity and, we have shown that, using the new small modular reactors (SMRs) it would be a very considerably cheaper option for Ireland than wind turbines, together with their back-up gas-fired electricity generators and grid extensions.
It should be noted that one nuclear plant is equivalent to 1,000 wind turbines, higher than the 120m Dublin spire, and would have a lifetime of 60 years compared to 20-25 years for wind turbines. A nuclear plant could be sited in the place of an existing fossil plant, use the existing grid, and so would not require all the controversial extra pylons necessary with wind generation.
It is about time that a serious cost-benefit analysis of our future energy supply be done and that this include the nuclear option. – Yours, etc,
PHILIP W WALTON,
(Emeritus Professor
of Physics, NUI Galway),
Uggool,
Moycullen,
Co Galway.