TNAG-1498-FCO40-2056-Guangdong-nuclear-power-station-project-at-Daya-Bay-safety-c-1986 — Page 81

THE ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF ENERGY

The world seeks alternative forms of energy. The only form available on any scale is that of nuclear energy. The incident at

Chernobyl activated the fear of the unknown. It reminded us that

major accident can spread danger over a wide area. A form of energy

linked to a form of weapon which is the most destructive in the

history of mankind stimulates fear. Understandably we would like to opt for a different alternative, an alternative that had total

safety if such a thing existed, and could harness some of the

world's natural energy movements. British Governments and other

Governments throughout the world have devoted considerable resources

to such a search.

A country like Japan, financially and economically strong but having to import most of its energy has poured millions and millions of financial resources into research and development work on alternative forms of energy.

THE SUN

Solar energy has been explored in the Southern United States, in

Japan, and in countries in the Middle East but no major breakthrough

has taken place.

THE WIND

We have carefully researched the potential for harnessing the wind.

We are building a windmill, at a cost of £16 million, in one of the

most windy parts of United Kingdom. This will produce electricity,

but at a cost far greater than the usual cost of electricity.

If we

develop this system and bring down the cost to a third or a quarter of the present costs there is still no way that it could meet our

own energy demands. The typical windmill designed to harness electricity on any potential scale is a machine which has rotors of

60-100 metres diameter, is built on a tower 100 metres high and has

a noise equivalent to a helicopter. It is not the attractive

windmills of the more romantic type that we remember from the days

gone by. It has to be located in an area where there are not just winds but frequent winds. These of course would be on some of the

finest environmental sites of the United Kingdom. They cannot generate electricity when the winds are too low, they cannot be allowed to generate electricity when the winds are too high,

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