Energy priorities

sir – As a chartered engineer, Steve Proud (Letters, October 5) would do well to read the technical report from Ofgem on the blackout to which he refers. It clearly states that, while a drop in output from the Hornsea Wind Farm was one of the contributing factors, the outage was caused by Little Barford Gas Power Station tripping twice.

It is a myth that large, centralised power stations provide greater grid stability. Most electrical applications are inherently variable, as we switch things on and off, while large generators using steam from fire or fission are inherently inflexible. However, in the same way that we use clean drinking water for flushing lavatories and washing cars, there are many electrical applications that don’t need the high‑quality electricity that the current grid provides.

The first generation of “smart meters” has been a huge missed opportunity. A proper, functioning smart grid would be able to match our intermittent demand with the variable, but highly predictable, generation from renewables.

By the time the 3GW Hinkley C power station is built, Britain will have brought online more than 10 times that in wind capacity and solar. This is in spite of having a tiny proportion of the investment and government support that fission (and fusion) nuclear power have had.

It is also important to remember that nuclear power is a fossil fuel that Britain has to import, while we have all the elements to make our own wind, wave and tidal turbines, and photovoltaics. Although we don’t own deposits of the rare earth metals required for the magnets and electronics that these use, due to our lack of recycling facilities we pay other countries large sums to take these metals off our shores every year. Blaise Kelly

Graduate Energy Institute Bristol