Mulholland: go live solar

I am a great fan of Stephen Mulholland and so was dismayed to read politically correct nonsense in his letter (“Nuclear is grand larceny”, June 1). He is quite right to fear corruption, but quite wrong in his economic assessment of solar electricity over nuclear.

Even if solar PV (photovoltaic) panels were free, solar power for reliable base-load electricity would still be prohibitively expensive. Nuclear is our most affordable option.

The key question for any electricity provider: How much would you charge for 1kWh (kilowatt-hour) of electricity at 7pm in winter? Only one solar technology can answer, concentrated solar power (CSP) with storage.

The magnificent Bokpoort CSP plant in the sunny Northern Cape will charge 280c/kWh. Later CSP plants will charge more. This compares with about 27c/kWh from Koeberg or about 62c/kWh for Eskom’s own average generating costs.

Solar PV electricity is intermittent and unreliable. To turn their unreliable electricity into reliable electricity would need storage, back-up and spinning reserve, all staggeringly expensive.

Mulholland should equip his house with solar electricity and cook his evening meal on a dark winter night with his solar electricity.

How much would 1kWh of his solar electricity cost at 7pm on a July evening?

Andrew Kenny Sun Valley