Continuing on from Johnny Ball championing Nuclear Power, i came across a very interesting letter in The Herald today from Kerr McGregor of the Scottish Solar Energy Group. Aside from detailing an appealing energy-mix solution, the summary paragraph addresses the Nuclear debate far more elegantly that i ever could:

As for nuclear, it is fatally flawed for two reasons. It depends on a finite resource, uranium, which, like oil, will gradually run out, and it creates nuclear waste that we still don’t know how to handle. Renewables are clean and everlasting and enormous. For example, one-tenth of the Sahara desert covered with 10% efficient solar power stations would be enough to supply all the world’s energy for ever.

Great to read some clear-headed thinking on energy – we are not alone!

Writing in The Sun last month, childhood TV hero Johnny Ball outlined his opinion that Nuclear Power is the way forward for UK energy. Ball maintains that nuclear tech has come a long way in the last 20 years, coining the phrase ‘New Nuclear’ for this latest generation.

…. the French are already 85 per cent nuclear-reliant and export cheap electricity across every border, including the UK.

Comparing nuclear with wind, Ball insists:

Both are carbon-free, discounting construction, but one new nuclear station will produce more electricity than every wind farm, both built and planned.

Clever stuff from Ball. I actually agree that alot of the science makes sense – but haven’t we heard all this before? Its going to take alot to convince the UK public that Nuclear is the way forward. They are used to reports of leaks from Sellafield ( the recent French nuclear leaks were eerily reminiscent) and of course, the Chernobyl tragedy still haunts our memories. Perhaps its best we left Nuclear alone Johnny. Green energy has to be the future.

Anyway, over to you. Do you agree with Johnny Ball?