No need for nuclear power

Comment:  State of VA, we do not want nuke power, we do not need nuke power, gov of VA, stop listening to the Lynchburg's Nukes!  No to Nukes!

Tuesday, 4 May 2010
The mid-term picture for nuclear power looks equally problematic. Three major new energy scenarios, from the European Climate Foundation, Price- Waterhouse Coopers (backed by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), and the European Renewable Energy Council, conclude that the EU could obtain both its electricity and even its total energy, from renewables by 2050 – with no nuclear power, and without significant extra costs.

Indeed it could be cheaper long term – after all there would be no fuel costs. Wind power is already the cheapest source on the grid in some US states, and it, and the other renewables, will get cheaper still as technology develops.

There are viable and pragmatic energy futures: where offshore wind, waves, tides, biomass and photovoltaics collectively offer the potential to harness enormous energy resources. Other energy futures include: large-scale networks for energy distribution; radical market innovations from energy supply to energy services, comprehensive energy efficiency, and the restructuring of our built environment to provide for more distributed and integrated energy systems.

The fact is, we are approaching an energy future of rich and bewildering choice, where a variety of radically different options present technically and economically viable alternatives – a future where the nuclear option is the dearest and riskiest of gambles.

Dr Paul Dorfman
Warwick Business School
David Elliott
Emeritus Professor, Energy and Environment, The Open University
Professor Tom Burke
Founding Director, E3G; Visiting Professor at Imperial and University Colleges
Professor Andy Stirling
University of Sussex
Stephen Thomas
Professor of Energy Policy
University of Greenwich
Brian Wynne
Professor of Science Studies and Research Director of the Centre for the Study of Environmental Change, University of Lancaster

Read more:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-nuclear-power-1961532.html