Why adopting nuclear power will be a boon for Ireland’s wildlife.
The inhabitants of Ireland, human or otherwise, have a problem; the use of nuclear power to produce electricity on this island is currently against the law. This policy has had deleterious effects on all of us.
Some quick facts to begin with:
France, a country of 65 million people, with almost twice the population density of Ireland, generates 70% of its electricity from nuclear power stations, and has used nuclear power for 60 years.
French residents currently pay much less for their energy than the people of Ireland.
France has over 30% forest cover, while Ireland has around 10%, the majority of which is ecologically ‘dead’ monoculture.
Adopting clean, green, nuclear energy is the best way to decarbonise the Irish economy, clean up our cities, provide more economic freedom to the people of Ireland, and save and even improve upon what’s left of our wild nature.
The Irish Government has committed to producing 70% of Ireland’s energy from ‘renewable’ sources i.e. wind and solar, by 2030. All of our fossil fuel plants will be discontinued except for natural gas, which is required as a backup energy source on breathless winter nights. They are aggressive with their targets, envisaging Ireland to be world leaders in the field of renewables. Pursuing this strategy while neglecting nuclear power is treacherous and completely immoral, as I will outline below.
As individuals, if we had the freedom to invest on our own behalf in a preferred source of electricity, we would most likely pick one that is guaranteed to be cheap, completely consistent and reliable, with longevity beyond our own lifetime, and that wouldn’t interrupt our daily life in any way. This is all achieved by nuclear power.
With the plan to use 70% renewable energy, mostly from wind and solar, the government wants to use expensive technologies, unreliable by their nature, which require updating every 20–30 years, and are designed to stick out on the landscape, be they on our most exposed hills or along our coastline. They increase Ireland’s chances of blackouts because of their design, and also because they are invested in at the expense of our more prevalent, reliable energy sources.
Renewables are expensive because of the amount of materials and land required due to their inefficiency, expensive due to the fact that we need to back them up with gas power, due to the fact that we will be buying power from our neighbours when we run out, and also because when they provide too much power, they have to be curtailed.
It seems an easy choice to me. And what then, of our futures? What do I suggest life in Ireland will look like under both scenarios?
Incorporating mostly renewable energy, Ireland’s electricity grid will become more unstable. Massive amounts of infrastructure are set to be installed. Wind farms will spring up on every coast. I can’t see how this wouldn’t hurt tourism and fishing, as well as our marine life. Forests and south-facing slopes will be cleared to install solar power. Industries that require always-on technology will not stick around when their electricity bills increase dramatically, and the quality of electricity supply decreases. It will be damaging to our economy, making us less attractive to foreign investment and immigration. Home energy bills become more expensive, as is the case in Germany, so the cost of living goes up. This affects everyone from those looking to buy houses and start families, to those who want to retire.
To further the green agenda, the government will also tax diesel and has already banned burning coal at home. They will use tax money to subsidize electric vehicles, and to retrofit thousands of older homes. How can you increase the demand for electricity so much, while making it so much more expensive at the same time? No-one in their right mind should think this is sensible or fair.
The other scenario I propose incorporates nuclear power. Our coal-burning plants are replaced directly in situ with small modular reactors (SMRs), so there is no extra infrastructure demand on our coasts or our hillsides. Our electricity grid will be bolstered by the most reliable energy production on the planet. This makes energy cheaper for everyone, industries and individual consumers alike. Ireland becomes more attractive to investment from abroad, and life becomes easier for people, previously squeezed by higher cost of living.
Let’s go a little bit deeper. Adopting widespread nuclear power will allow for the mass electrification of all our transport and heating. Extra demand from electric cars can be accounted for by our new supply. Technological advances will see electric buses, lorries, and trains too. Think about what that does for our cities. The air becomes completely smoke free and clean. Electric vehicles are silent. Two major sources of pollution are removed. This makes cities more attractive for people. The reason we love living in cities is the people. Construction becomes cheaper, and people with more economic freedom would build much more houses.
Ultimately, I see this taking pressure off of our countryside. Less people living in the country will allow nature to rejuvenate, and advancements in farming technology will allow it to become less intensive. Thus, less land is required for the same amount of food production, freeing up even more space.
This is what I see happening if people are given the option to choose their own future, versus having a canned, PR-friendly future thrust upon them by the powers that be.
When government and central planning attempt to correct some social problem, it is impossible for them to do so without creating other problems, based on the scale of what they propose. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. They might mean well, and want a better future for everyone, but focus groups and increased taxation are not the way to a better future. The best and most democratic way is to give individuals more freedom to choose, and pick a future that is most suited to them.
