Sir, – John Bristow (Letters, May 6th) has questioned the point of Ireland's belated and expensive attempt to "play its part" in the European objective to lower carbon emissions through renewable energy.
Of course he is correct to point out that our high emissions have an infinitesimal effect at world, or even European, scale.
However, there are aims and regulations we must meet in order to earn the benefits that come from our EU membership; the problem is the political obsession with increasing proportions of “renewable” energy, reaching our target through wind and solar supported by natural gas.
It is surely time to ask serious questions about the mathematical facts and physical effects of this policy? We need to consider the land area per megawatt (MW) of electricity generated and the economic, social and environmental costs associated with the provision of 70 per cent of our electricity from wind and solar by 2030. Before committing ourselves to this investment in, damage to, and carbon losses from, hillside, forestry and moorland, we must ask whether such irregular and unreliable energy is, in fact, going to reduce our CO2 emissions sufficiently and at what economic and environmental cost?
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There has been a complete lack of public discussion, and a deliberate avoidance of discussion, at Government level, about the cheaper small modular nuclear reactors that will be coming on stream in the next few years. These would be of a suitable size for Ireland and provide an affordable, clean replacement for natural gas (which is not low carbon, merely lower than coal!) as the reliable back-up that our increasing levels of wind and solar energy needs. – Yours, etc,
Dr ANNE BAILY,
Ballyneale,
Carrick-on-Suir,
Co Tipperary.