Nuclear power - Time has come for calm debate

DEBATE on whether or not Ireland should go nuclear has been kick-started by one of the country’s leading educationalists, who yesterday made the surprising claim that, compared to other means of production, atomic energy is safe.

According to Dr Ed Walsh, a strong supporter of nuclear power, “the facts are quite unambiguous”.

He told an energy conference at the University of Limerick, which explored the energy problem facing the region and the cost of ignoring it, that nuclear reactors do not emit carbon gasses and so do not contribute to global warming; that “death statistics” show hydroelectric and coal are the most dangerous; that gas is safer; but that nuclear is “safest of all”.

It is moot if such claims can be offset against the terrible cost in human terms seen in this, the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

Nonetheless, Dr Walsh’s contention will provoke debate.

Though Ireland lags far behind other EU states in harnessing energy from renewable sources, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is firmly opposed to nuclear power, a stance shared by many others.

However, things have changed dramatically since controversy raged over an ESB proposal to locate a nuclear power station at Carnsore Point on the Wexford coast. Since then, rapid economic expansion has triggered unprecedented demand for electricity, both from industry and householders.

Along with the rest of the developed world, this country’s appetite for dwindling oil and gas resources is voracious. Indeed, the nation’s love affair with oil and gas is mirrored in a report from the Limerick Clare Energy Agency, which estimates that energy emissions in the region are already well beyond the Kyoto carbon dioxide targets and could cost €50 million in fines.

The nuclear question is compounded by fears over Sellafield. Such fears are echoed by the people of Cumbria as British Prime Minister Tony Blair champions a new generation of power stations. They will only be welcome if issues of safety and waste are resolved.

Genuine safety concerns over terrorist attacks and accidents at nuclear power stations have entrenched Irish Government opposition to building new facilities in Britain. However, the irony is that our undue dependence on imported energy will inevitably put this country in the hypocritical position of relying on electricity generated from nuclear power in either Britain, France or some other state.

National energy security has become a major issue on a planet where demand for oil and gas is growing too fast, costs are more than doubling, and estimates of “proven reserves” are illusory.

As one expert put it, the world has drifted into a “benign energy war”.

With prices soaring, little hope of resolution to the Iranian nuclear crisis, and Europe’s worrying dependence on supplies piped through the territories of unstable regimes, the cost of oil is unlikely to fall below $65 (€50.68) a barrel ever again.

Having set itself against nuclear power, there is an onus on Government to invest in a meaningful programme aimed at exploiting alternative energy sources.

Yet, while it is crucial to harness agri-products, wind farming, wave power, and other sources, there is no denying the fact that oil and gas will remain the dominant energy sources — hence, the urgency of bringing natural gas from the deep waters off Mayo ashore.

In view of Ireland’s worrying reliance on imported fuel for electricity generation, the time has come for calm, rational but robust debate on public attitudes to energy usage — including the nuclear option.