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Thinktank Sees Micro Generation As The Way To Go

Posted: 29/06/2005

Renewable power, particularly schemes where thousands of homes have their own microgenerators for heat and electricity, are a far cheaper way of meeting the UK's energy needs and combating climate change than nuclear stations, says a new report. The New Economics Foundation, a radical thinktank, compares the costs of nuclear energy and renewables, their contribution to the economy, and security of electricity supply for Britain.

It says renewable energy is quick to build and is abundant and cheap to harvest. It is also flexible, safe, secure and climate friendly. "The opposite conclusion is only possible if renewable energy technologies are negatively misrepresented and if the numerous weaknesses, high costs and unsolved problems of nuclear power are glossed over." The report is published in a week that the government has decided to encourage microgeneration in homes, offices and for whole streets of houses.

The foundation report says such a new industry would create more jobs, with cheaper and faster results than nuclear energy. "Renewables also do not leave a legacy of radioactive waste that endures in the environment for tens of thousands of years," the report adds.

One great plus of micro-power is that it produces electricity at the point of use so there is no need for large-scale grid connections and the 10% losses in transmission associated with big power plants. The report says 1m new gas-fired boilers are installed every year in the UK. If half these boilers micro-combined heat and power they would produce the equivalent electricity of a new power station each year, removing the need for new large-scale power plants.

The other advantage of micro-power, which uses solar, wind, hydropower and tides, depending on location, is that it provides security of supply, since it uses such a variety of sources, the report says. Surplus electricity generated can be put into the local grid. The report estimates that the probable net benefit to the UK of micro-generation would be £35m a year, mainly because the generators use little or no fuel.

The report calls on the government to withdraw the subsidies to nuclear power which "feather-bed" its prospects. So that renewables can reach their full potential, public support for renewables should rise to match the levels historically enjoyed by nuclear power. The government should have supported a recent private member's bill which would have set targets for renewables by area and removed planning restraints for rooftop wind turbines and other household micro-power.

The report says an unacknowledged benefit of microgeneration is that it puts people back in touch with where energy comes from, and the need to live in balance with the ecosystems on which we all depend. "It is possible that nuclear power has only survived for as long as it has because its true costs have been hidden from us, and because its radioactive emissions are invisible," the report says. The costs of renewable energy vary enormously, with onshore wind and landfill gas being the cheapest, though many still in the earlier stages of development are far more expensive than fossil fuels.

The nuclear industry's estimates of the cost of building new reactors, at 3p a kilowatt hour, are wild underestimates, according to the report. It calculates the price, based on past performance, delays and cost overruns, as up to 8p/kw hour, excluding insurance, pollution and the risk of terrorism.

The Guardian  
 

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