Nuclear wind of change (From York Press)

Nuclear wind of change

12:01pm Thursday 13th December 2012 in Letters By Reader's letter

BRIAN LEDGER (Letters, December 5) says that land used for wind-powered turbines can be returned to farm use immediately. This isn’t true as the column each turbine sits on has to have a massive concrete foundation.

Mr Ledger wonders what can be done with the site when a nuclear power station has run its course. Simple – build another nuclear power station. Nuclear fuel, unlike coal, oil or gas, can be used over and again.

Sellafield is a reprocessing plant which cleans up nuclear fuel-rods and returns the “new” fuel to its owners. Following this process, there is, admittedly, highly active waste to be dealt with, but this is safely buried in stainless-steel containers at a designated site.

In another letter, Mark Gladwin says I cast doubt on the reality of man-made climate change. Man is not responsible for climate-change; it is cyclical.

Mr Gladwin also points out it will take a lot of time to build nuclear power stations and, in the interim, wind power could be the way ahead.

He also says wind turbines are a thing of beauty, adding: “Nuclear power stations are pretty ugly.” Not as ugly as thousands of wind turbines.

Philip Roe, Roman Avenue South, Stamford Bridge, York.