IN recent years there have been numerous letters in the Mail on the subject of nuclear power.
In spite of that the Mayor has decided (Mail, June 11) that there should be an exchange of views on this subject.
He wants what he called a "pragmatic" debate but that excludes intellectual and moral considerations. Is that appropriate?
The I
nternational Energy Agency (IEA) recently warned that worldwide demand for oil will rise by 70 per cent over the next 40 years unless governments all over the world take drastic action to change the way energy is generated.
They called for 45m dollars to be invested in new technology before 2050 in order to reduce dependency on oil and gas and provide secure supplies of energy.
The IEA advises 27 countries on energy policies, including the USA and the UK, and it is clear that their views should be taken very seriously.
In this country there is an urgent need for quick action because for 25 years successive governments have failed to develop a robust energy policy.
The result of their dithering is simply that the UK now faces almost unavoidable, large-scale power shortages starting in a few years time, unless important decisions are made, and made quickly.
The European Union has told us, in the Large Scale Combustion Plant Directive, that in a few years we have to shut down large-scale coal-fired power stations in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Unfortunately, at the same time we also face the necessity of closing down most of our nuclear power stations because they are reaching the end of their operational lives.
This means that the UK will lose 30 per cent or more of current power generation capacity in about 10 years time. This is a potential crisis.
It is not possible to have new nuclear power stations on line in less than 10 years and if we want to have secure power supplies we will have to build at least six large coal-fired power stations and a similar number of gas-fired stations over the next few years.
The green lobbyists will say that wind farms, tidal power and solar panels can solve the world's energy problems.
But there is no time for further fruitless discussion on their fantasies.
We can't afford the luxury of spending years holding public inquiries as we have in the past.
Jim Allan,
Hartlepool.
The full article contains 406 words and appears in Hartlepool Mail newspaper.
