Grandstanding for a favourite technology no help
2013 July 29
To The Editor,
The Hamilton Spectator:
Re: "Doctors urge province to ramp-up renewable energy" (thespec.com, July 25)
The authors overlook the low reliability and availability of wind power, which means that "125,000 homes" can only be powered by "900 megawatts" of wind power if something else steps in to fill the void for the remaining 80 per cent of the time that wind is unavailable.
This "something else" is almost certainly going to be natural gas, and this inherent dependence on a polluting power source must be accounted for when such assertions are made.
The authors also repeat a common myth about the greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear power, which, in fact, have been shown in numerous studies to be comparable with wind power — both being significantly lower than fossil fuels.
We need a diversity of electricity supply options in Ontario and little is gained from grandstanding one's favourite technology over another.
Dr. Jeremy Whitlock,
communications director,
Canadian Nuclear Society
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