Standard letters page,
Nuclear power not needed - urgent responses to nuclear consultation by 22nd Feb
Dear Editor,
Most readers will be aware that the Government have included Bradwell as one of ten sites possible for new nuclear power stations and that now the old Bradwell power station will not be fully decommissioned for over a hundred years instead of being within 25 years from when it closed, as originally supported by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
A national nuclear consultation is at www.energynpsconsultation.decc.gov.uk, ending on 22nd February. Please make a response if you can by email to energynpsconsultation@opm.co.uk or by post to Robin Clarke, OPM, 252b Gray's Inn Road, WC1X 8XG. There is no need to answer all the questions or give long answers - just make key points.
Please include criticism of the consultation process which is difficult and biased in favour of nuclear. Please ask for a separate consultation on the proposed long-term storage of highlevel radioactive waste at the Bradwell site for 160 years.
Please point out why the Bradwell site is unacceptable. You may wish to include flood risk, onsite storage of highly radioactive waste, impact on the estuary, wildlife, fishing, emergency evacuation planning, proximity to large island population, damage to the estuary from vast amounts of cooling water drawn from the shallow estuary killing sealife, etc.
A Spanish company has suggested the possibility of three nuclear plants at Bradwell together with massive cooling towers on our beautiful Blackwater estuary which has the SSSI and Ramsar environmental designations and is so important for our beaches, sailing, fishing and the famous oyster industry.
Some people believe nuclear power is vital to stop climate change. But nuclear power only provides 13% of electricity in the UK or 3% of all energy used. Electricity is less than a fifth of total energy use, with about a third of energy used for transport and nearly half of all energy used for heating. We must cut these by at least 80% by 2050 to stop climate change.
Some people think nuclear power is needed to 'stop the lights going out', but it is hugely costly and so it would be drawing funding from renewables which are far quicker to build and from energy efficiency measures. The UK is committed to 34% of electricity and 15% of total energy use from renewables by 2020. Austria already has 62% renewable energy and Sweden 54%.
Yours sincerely,
Paula Whitney, Co-ordinator,
4 Shears Crescent, West Mersea, CO5 8AR.