Power to the people has to be nuclear

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-1795999,00.html

AS a former professor of physics for many years at the University of London, I welcome the article by Michael Portillo (Comment, last week). The case for building new nuclear power stations on existing sites as the old ones are phased out, is overwhelming if we are serious about reducing our effects on global warming. The contributions of wind and wave power, while welcome, can never be enough to replace our present nuclear power output.
Unfortunately I believe that while Tony Blair is prime minister, he is going to avoid all the difficult decisions he can. These include nuclear power, council tax revision, the future of the European Union etc. Will Gordon Brown do any better?
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Professor Roland DobbsWadhurst, East Sussex
SORRY MESS: Portillo’s article was a comprehensive analysis of the utter bankruptcy of the government’s energy policy. The whole sorry mess has been festering since privatisation in 1989. No large power stations of any kind are being constructed as the electricity pricing mechanism is not giving power companies the signals for long-term investment.
His views of the cost of new nuclear plants are not up-to-date. Plants are now much more standardised and Canadian-designed ones are being built in China in about 50 months. The new plant in Finland should be quite straightforward, as will the new ones in France.
The principal advantage of using uranium is that, with a breeder cycle, we can produce controllable power and dramatically reduce our dependence on imported energy with inexhaustible fuel and very small quantities of waste.
Paul SpareChartered EngineerDavenham, Cheshire