Madam, - National energy policy should recognise the need for secure supplies, reasonable cost to consumers, care for the environment and the timely matching of supply to demand. Renewable energies form a cornerstone of our present policy but they alone cannot satisfy two of these needs - cost and the matching of supply and demand.
In view of recent events in leading oil-producing countries, and given our huge reliance on oil, it is clear we have not got the right mix. The Government's present policy of excluding nuclear energy, even as an option for the future, is most unwise. We urge those responsible for national policy to reopen the nuclear option - that is, nuclear fission energy for the near term and nuclear fusion for the longer term.
In case the idea of nuclear energy terrifies your readers, be assured that new and coming forms are safer and less prone to being used as sources of nuclear weapons material. Also, they employ simpler fuel cycles, avoiding Sellafield-like fuel reprocessing and difficult waste disposal problems.
Moreover, according to a recent study by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK, the through-life cost of nuclear fission reactors - including decommissioning - is considerably lower than that of wind farms.
Of course even new nuclear fission power is not without some problems; nevertheless, it is the only commercially available, carbon-free, large-scale energy source. As such it forms an essential part of the supply mix that could be the bridge to a cleaner and more sustainable mix in the future.
The need for energy policy to defend against economic collapse, resource wars and the drastic effects of climate change is pressing. We urge those responsible for energy policy to reopen the nuclear option. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID SOWBY, Knocksinna Crescent, Dublin 18; FRANK TURVEY,
Church Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow.