4th September 2006

J. Young asks what are the alternatives to nuclear that can provide cheaper, more secure and reliable energy (Gazette letters 1/09/06).

Infact when the Government’s own Sustainable Development Commission looked at whether new nuclear power stations should be built they considered the alternatives and concluded unanimously there was no justification for new reactors.

Simplistically, alternatives to nuclear could include a mix of biomass plants, tidal lagoons, wind farms, tidal turbine farms, rooftop turbines and solar energy, supplemented by increased energy efficiency. Energy efficiency measures alone could cut household CO2 emissions by 60% using available technologies.

The Energy Savings Trust meanwhile estimates that microgeneration could provide 30 to 40% of electricity needs by 2050 - sooner if the right economic incentives were in place.

Friends of the Earth have modeled a number of scenarios for future electricity production. They conclude that ‘it is possible to meet demand and achieve a 48-71 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the electricity sector by 2020 without needing to replace decommissioned nuclear power stations.’

Why take the safety, economic and environmental risks of nuclear when the alternatives are already available?

David Wood, Chalford
Stroud District Green party