E.ON is talking energy
E.ON has created a YouTube channel to try to engage the public in a debate on future energy policy. It has also placed adverts in the major press, including the Sunday Times, with the following catchy slogan:
I want affordable energy
I want reliable energy
I want low-carbon energy
Don’t we want all three?
Quite good, I’m sure you’ll agree. The phrase ‘reliable energy’ has been slowly gaining ground amongst the nuclear community, who wish to set out their stall in competition with other sustainable sources such as wind, which have more vocal proponents in the mainstream press, particularly amongst the green community. Of course -- as anyone who thinks about for more than a few moments will be forced to agree -- if a whole country is powered with, say, windmills, then you need some sort of energy storage system for when the wind isn’t blowing. New Miliband advisor David MacKay has worked out that the UK would have to turn Scotland into a giant battery for this idea to work, with every major lake used as a pump storage scheme. Nuclear proponents speak of reactors as a way of providing that essential baseload supply in the UK without needing this enormous change in national infrastructure.
Make up your own mind and join the debate!