Express & Star comment: Now time to invest in nuclear
The decision by Hitachi to cancel a new nuclear power plant in North Wales has thrown Britain’s energy policy into sharp relief. And here in the West Midlands, that will mean change.
Gone are the days of coal-fired power plants. From Ironbridge, near Telford, to Ocker Hill, near Tipton, old, out-of-date plants that spewed noxious greenhouse gases into the atmosphere are no more.
And gone too are the coal pits. From sites near to Bridgnorth to open cast pits at Patent Shaft, near Wednesbury, they have long since become redundant. It is cheaper to import coal from other parts of the globe.
We are bound by international treaties that require us to generate energy in a more environmentally-conscious manner. And we must embrace such moves as we live through an era in which scientists warn of global warming. Summers are longer and hotter, freak weather events are more common and experts claim the effect of generating too much greenhouse gas can be felt around the world.
We must look towards alternative methods, therefore, that do not rely on fossil fuels. And that means we have no choice but to look at nuclear and renewables.
Britain has a love-hate relationship with nuclear energy. There are concerns about its cost, about the investment required to build plants, about the issues regarding safety and about what to do with waste material that is the by-product of nuclear fusion. There are no easy answers to those questions and until they are found Britain will continue to reflect long and hard on whether nuclear provides the right route. And yet it seems we have little choice. In an industry where the options are limited and bound by our international duties to the planet, we have no alternative but to invest more in nuclear.
And then there are renewables. Drive into the countryside and one will instantly see the effect of this sea change in policy. Solar farms are springing up at a dizzying rate and we might reasonably assume that despite all of the protests the number of wind farms will grow considerably in number.
We must think long term and look at the impact of our energy policy on our children and our children’s children. When it comes to energy, we have to take responsible decisions that will both meet our needs and safeguard the planet.
