It takes years to build a nuclear plant

From Dr Gerry Wolff.

Sir, You say: “For the foreseeable future, neither fossil fuels nor renewable sources will be able to replace the 14 per cent of global electricity generated by nuclear reactors, without risking severe instability and shortages in energy markets.” (“Time to revive, not kill, the nuclear age”, editorial, April 25.)

But exactly the same would be true of new nuclear power stations in the unlikely event that all existing nuclear plants were to be suddenly closed down.

In general, renewables can be built much faster than nuclear power plants. Last year, Germany installed 8.8 GW of photovoltaic solar panels, producing about the same amount of electricity as a 1 GW nuclear plant. But it would take much longer – about seven years – to build that nuclear plant.

Gerry Wolff,

Energy Fair,

Menai Bridge, Anglesey, UK