The world is on the brink of the abyss. Climate catastrophe is upon us, and in the time of COP26 it is time to look again at the potential to supply low carbon electricity. Long a bugbear to the anti-nuclear movement, it seems that the other options are worse. Coal, natural gas and oil need to be phased out pronto. Renewables can’t cope, there will be a gap as demand exceeds supply. The only realistic choice is nuclear energy.<\/p>\n
Many eco-warriors will be appalled. However there are sound reasons for moving to nuclear power. Firstly, it is low-carbon. Not zero carbon, because mining of the ore and disposing of the waste do cause carbon emissions, but it is massively lower than fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
\u201cAveraging the results of the studies places nuclear energy\u2019s 30 tonnes CO2e\/GWh emission intensity at 7% of the emission intensity of natural gas, and only 3% of the emission intensity of coal fired power plants. In addition, the lifecycle GHG emission intensity of nuclear power generation is consistent with renewable energy sources including biomass, hydroelectric and wind.\u201d Comparison of Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Various Electricity Generation Sources; WNA Report <\/i><\/p>\n
Storing a small amount of dangerous waste for 1000 years is a difficult task. Living in a collapsed civilisation is worse. That would result in millions, or even billions of deaths as the climate catastrophe wreaks havoc.<\/p>\n
We can not power an industrial civilisation wholly with renewable energy. It isn’t reliable enough. There isn’t enough of it. Even by carpeting the UK with solar power, wind turbines and using all available sea space for generation, we would only be able to supply one-fifth<\/i> of the energy the UK uses. So that leaves us with only one alternative \u2013 nuclear fission reactors. New, smaller reactors are being tested. Uranium won’t last forever, but it could tide us over and Thorium looks promising as a cheap, available alternative.<\/p>\n
Professor James Hansen, the renowned climate scientist says, \u201cA build rate of 61 new reactors per year could entirely replace current fossil fuel electricity generation by 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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