Madam, - Patrick O'Brien repeats the call for a change in Ireland's policy of not using nuclear power. Like all other supporters of nuclear power, he is naive to think that nuclear provides the solution we need.
Nuclear power fails for several reasons, not least of which is that nuclear fuel is a finite resource, just like oil. In the last few years, the cost of nuclear fuel has rocketed. It has rocketed precisely because of the renaissance in global interest. Why replace one finite and costly resource with another? Why replace one fuel supply which is the subject of global conflict, with another that will inevitably take on the same characteristics? Apart from this obvious risk to national economic security, there are several others.
Firstly, nuclear plants represent a substantial target to any malcontent who wishes to wreak havoc. Preventing the success of such attacks is nearly impossible, despite any security precautions taken, and despite the robustness of the plant design. No matter how remote the possibility of such a catastrophe, only one successful attack or systems failure would render our entire country uninhabitable. It therefore wouldn't seem to be the most environmentally responsible of solutions.
Secondly, even in everyday use, such technology is dirty, and leaves dangerous waste behind that is very troublesome to manage. This again, is another reason why such a solution isn't environmentally responsible.
Thirdly, it has not been demonstrated that nuclear power can break even without substantial (and often secret) government subsidy. Why would we select such a risky and short-sighted solution?
We have an opportunity now to invest in the development of new technologies to harness less risky types of energy. Contrary to what many claim, wind power is capable of providing peak load power, if storage solutions are developed. This is a problem for engineers and scientists to resolve, but a solution is not impossible.
Several methodologies are in use around the world. For example, in the US , surplus wind power is stored by pumping air into aquifers to create vast reservoirs of highly pressurised air. When extra load is demanded, or at times of low wind, this pressurised air is released to drive turbines. (At the moment, such pressurised air is used to massively increase the efficiency of gas turbines.) Other storage solutions can include using surplus wind power to pump water back up into upland reservoirs for HEP, or using surplus wind to produce hydrogen for later use to cope with peak demands.
While using food crops to produce ethanol seems to have been demonstrated to be less than optimal for our energy crisis, this doesn't mean that ethanol is a dead end. Currently, research is under way to develop methods to produce ethanol from the non-food parts of food crops, and even to produce ethanol from algae. Such research holds out the possibility of very efficient production of green fuel.
Wave power, onshore and offshore wind, and believe it or not, solar photovoltaics are all options that are viable in Ireland at the moment, and we should continue to develop these now.
Ireland could play a lead role in the development of all these technologies, and others not yet conceived, if the Government were serious about finding energy solutions. - Yours, etc
CORMAC MacGOWAN, Craughwell, Co Galway.