Memorandum submitted by John R Parry
In response to your request for comments from
the public concerning new electricity generating capacity, I would
like to make the following observations.
I have been witness to the spoliation of the
Lake District by the erection of wind farms in the vicinity of
Grizebeck and Haverigg. I note that most of them no longer work.
In my view, the insistence of their manufacturer's in constructing
them of bright white materials, presumably to advertise their
presence, was an act of ecological vandalism.
I have also watched with incredulity as large
business concerns have been granted permission to construct gas-fired
power stations and to run them on low-price North and Irish Sea
gas. I note that the price of gas to domestic consumers is scheduled
to rise this year—the figure of 40% has been mentioned.
As a domestic consumer, I have to ask myself "what's that
all about?" It seems to me that the policy is insane.
I have been associated with the nuclear industry
for the last 25 years, and I know there are drawbacks to nuclear
power. However, I would submit that these are as nothing compared
to living, as I did through my formative years, downwind of a
coal-fired power station (in my case it was Agecroft north of
Manchester). The health of generations of people living in Prestwich
was blighted by the outpouring of filth from the stack, the top
of which was level with the borough less than a mile away.
There are problems with nuclear waste, but I
would submit that modern recycling and encapsulation methods can
overcome these. The Nirex deep deposit project encountered considerable
local opposition, but my feeling is that that was caused by "not
in my back yard" syndrome. If the proposition had been to
put the entrance to the tunnel within the boundaries of Sellafield,
rather than in a thriving local village, the local opposition
would have been minimal.
There have always been reservations concerning
nuclear power associated with the "base load" problem.
If you build sufficient nuclear power stations to take up the
maximum load on the electricity grid, you are faced with the problem
of shedding the difference between the maximum and minimum loads
during quiet periods, nuclear power stations not being amenable
to being switched on and off as required. May I suggest that sufficient
nuclear power stations be built to exceed the maximum load. During
the off-peak periods the excess capacity can be used to power
desalination plants to compensate for the water shortages anticipated
due to global warming, and in addition, the desalinated water
can be electrolysed to provide a copious supply of hydrogen. This
could then be used to power our motor vehicles—a totally
"carbon free" solution to the pollution caused by our
motor traffic.
In conclusion, I am delighted that the problems
of electricity supply are at last to be addressed, and would urge
you to act rapidly and boldly to provide a long-term solution
to the whole problem, which has been shamefully ignored for the
last 20 years.
29 July 2005
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