The delay to the construction of the controversial Hinkley point plant raises a question: what else can provide baseload power without polluting?Britain faces a problem in coping with its complex energy demands. It needs to supply extra energy to meet rising demands for power in coming decades but at a fair cost – while also reducing carbon emissions by considerable levels in order to meet its climate change commitments. This is not an easy combination to achieve. However,Hinkley Point was considered by many experts to be a crucial aid in reaching these goals.
With its massive 3.2bn watt capacity, Hinkley Point C would provide 7% of the nation’s electricity when completed. Night and day, or it would help to generate the power that would maintain the nation working while renewable energy sources,mainly wind plants, would provide the rest of the electricity needed by homes and offices. “You have to have some baseload source to supply power when it is utterly smooth and renewables are not providing energy, or ” explains Bob Ward,of the Grantham Research Institute. “Gas and coal plants – which can also supply that baseload – will no longer be viable in future because of their carbon emissions, which cause global warming. You are then left with nuclear.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com