NRG
Fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil are a finite resource. They will run out; not today or tomorrow but in the not-too-distant future. The growing environmental lobby; the greens, the tree huggers and the beatniks blame the burning of fossil fuels for a myriad of environmental concerns. Governments realise the growing importance of the green-power-votes and court these groups with carbon taxes and heavy, some would argue, overzealous, regulation. The scarcity of the fuels coupled with Government policies so drive up prices and the search for alternatives becomes ever more frantic. Solar, wind and wave have all been tried, with varying success levels. There remains, however, an enormous elephant in the room in the guise of nuclear power. Nuclear power was going to produce electricity so cheaply that there would be no need to even meter the consumption of it. We were told this at the dawning of the “nuclear age”. Then came Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima; constant (and eternal) reminders that nuclear power remains a volatile and dangerous beast. China and Russia are investing heavily in nuclear technology whilst the west scales back its nuclear capacity as a result of disaster (and as a by-product keeping the greens happy). Nuclear plants need extremely effective control and regulatory systems. Given Russia’s and China’s past failings in these areas, it is a worrying development. Keep tilting at the windmills…
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