LETTER: Nuclear needs to be in the energy mix

Neil Overy appears to need a lot of words to say very little (“Weaponising science in SA’s nuclear discourse”, November 1).

He’s upset that electricity & energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa hasn’t taken the views of the anti-nuclear lobby seriously and has given them short shrift.

I’m a supporter of nuclear but always ready to listen to the alternatives. Overy doesn’t give any, but we can assume he likes wind and solar, so some facts and figures would help his argument.

The UK has made a success of offshore wind farms, which is where they work best. On land they look awful and only half the ones I see appear to be working. With our sunshine and open spaces, solar seems a shoo-in.

But as usual it comes down to a mix of generation sources with an emphasis on base load capacity, which wind and solar aren’t good at without battery storage.

Overy is correct that scientists are not always objective and free from political persuasion. They also aren’t immune from the idea that a nuclear power plant is similar to having an atomic bomb on the back garden.

SA needs nuclear in its energy mix, so let’s have a grown-up discussion about the pros and cons.

Bernard Benson
Parklands 

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