Dear
Editor,
Regarding your report "Three nuclear power units to be built in
Ukraine" (2007-02-27), there is absolutely no need for nuclear power in
the Ukraine (or anywhere else in Europe or the USA) because there is a simple
mature technology that can deliver huge amounts of clean energy without any of
the headaches of nuclear power.
I refer to 'concentrating solar power' (CSP), the technique of concentrating
sunlight using mirrors to create heat, and then using the heat to raise steam
and drive turbines and generators, just like a conventional power station. It
is possible to store solar heat in melted salts so that electricity generation
may continue through the night or on cloudy days. This technology has been
generating electricity successfully in California since 1985 and half a million
Californians currently get their electricity from this source. CSP plants are
now being planned or built in many parts of the world. A recent report from the
American Solar Energy Society says that CSP plants in the south western states
of the US "could provide nearly 7,000 GW of capacity, or ***about seven
times the current total US electric capacity***" (emphasis added).
CSP works best in hot deserts and, of course, there are not many of these in
Europe! But it is feasible and economic to transmit solar electricity over very
long distances using highly-efficient 'HVDC' transmission lines. With
transmission losses at about 3% per 1000 km, solar electricity may, for
example, be transmitted from the Middle East to Kiev with only about 10% loss
of power. A large-scale HVDC transmission grid has also been proposed by the
wind energy company Airtricity as a means of optimising the use of wind power
throughout Europe.
In the recent 'TRANS-CSP' report commissioned by the German government, it is
estimated that CSP electricity, imported from North Africa and the Middle East,
could become one of the cheapest sources of electricity in Europe, including
the cost of transmission. That report shows in great detail how Europe can meet
all its needs for electricity, make deep cuts in CO2 emissions, and phase out
nuclear power at the same time.
Sincerely,
Dr Gerry Wolff
Coordinator of TREC-UK.
Спасибі за Вашу активність, Ваше питання буде розглянуто модераторами найближчим часом
