Nuclear it is
The Prime Minister has announced support for the building of several small modular reactors (SMRs) to boost the UK’s supply of nuclear energy. It’s finally going to happen. Some environmentalists call this ‘falling for the nuclear spin,’ but the arguments for nuclear are so overwhelming that other environmentalists support it.
It provides an energy source independent of weather conditions, unlike wind and solar. This makes it a stable and predictable source. It will help the UK become less dependent on imported fossil fuels that are subject to political turmoil and price fluctuations.
Its greenhouse gas emissions are minimal compared to those of fossil fuels. Unlike most other energy sources, it can operate at full potential most of the time, and although nuclear plants have high upfront costs, they provide decades of stable, low-cost electricity.
The move to more nuclear brings with it the prospect of thousands of high-skilled jobs in construction, engineering, and maintenance. In France, where 70 percent of its electricity comes from nuclear power, communities bid to have new stations situated near them because of the prosperity they bring to the community. In the UK, by contrast, communities mobilize against them and resort to every means to thwart their construction.
This is ill-advised because new nuclear technologies, such as SMRs and fusion research, promise safer, more efficient, and more affordable energy, while advances in nuclear waste management are making disposal safer and more sustainable. The effort to gain approval to build them with no doubt be fought tooth and nail by those who rate newts and bats as more important than people, but it is a fight worth winning.
Finally, a balanced energy mix featuring nuclear decreases the risk of power shortages and provides a stable base to add to intermittent renewables. Nuclear power helps keep electricity prices more stable and predictable for consumers.
By having them located domestically, we reduce the need for imported energy and its associated costs. The combination of national energy security, lower pollution and economic growth, give nuclear a considerable edge in providing the UK’s future needs. The new reactors represent a positive to be embraced, not a negative to be avoided.