Bruce Power Chief: No Free Lunch on Electric Power

From The Record (Ontario, Canada):

Alternative energy sources may have a role to play, but Ontarians should not expect them to replace nuclear power as the province's main source of electricity, the chief executive of Bruce Power told local Rotarians yesterday.

When surveyed, most people say they prefer wind, solar or hydroelectric power over nuclear energy because they think energy from renewable sources is "free," Duncan Hawthorne said.

"That's fair, except I can qualify them all with one word: 'Sometimes,' " he said. "Because sometimes the sun shines, sometimes the wind blows and sometimes the rain falls. We need energy on a stable basis."

"It's not reasonable to build a developed society out of any of those three things," he said.

I first heard Hawthorne speak at a Platts conference in 2005. Bruce is lucky to have him.