Readers respond: Address climate change with nuclear power

Renewable energy is typically generated far from where it is consumed. Transmission to the point of use becomes a limiting factor. Projects to extend the transmission grid and reduce loss with high voltage are meeting with opposition from property owners as well as land use restrictions.

While the creation of clean wind and solar energy is an attractive idea, its problems include the cost of transmission. It also needs backup fossil fuel energy from natural gas – when winds are calm around windmills and at night or on overcast days for solar. We make plans for clean energy generation and later recognize that without support, they can be like proverbial fragile houses made of straw and sticks. Another problem? Wind and solar facilities built now will be at the end of their design life by the middle of the century.

Scientists worldwide are stating with more and more confidence that our future energy policy must include development of nuclear energy to meet any of our optimistic clean energy goals. Nuclear energy plants have a design life of 80 years.

Yet Oregon has restrictions on building new and more nuclear energy generation. These restrictions must be removed. To plan for a better future, we must treat climate change as though it were a growing cancer and be brave enough to confront it now.

Craig Stephens, Lake Oswego

To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.