LETTER AS SUBMITTED TO THE GUARDIAN AND INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Dear Editor,

The recent report that Iran plans to resume research into uranium enrichment has, once again, raised fears that the technology could support the building of nuclear weapons and would not be used purely for the generation of nuclear electricity, as the Iranians claim.

But Iran has enormous quantities of energy falling as sunlight on to its deserts, and 'concentrating solar power' is a proven technology for tapping into this vast resource (see, for example, the website of the US Government's Department of Energy at www.eere.energy.gov/solar/csp.html). In one of the simplest of several variations, an array of mirrors focuses sunlight on to a tank filled with water mounted on a low tower. This raises steam that can be used to generate electricity in the normal way. There are techniques for storing solar heat so that generation of electricity can continue right through the night.

Europe and the USA could call the bluff of the Iranians by offering to build enough concentrating solar power plants in the Iranian desert to supply all of the country’s needs (perhaps with wind power to make up any shortfall during the Iranian winter). Even if the bluff were accepted, it would be an inexpensive way to reduce worries about the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Sincerely,

Gerry Wolff

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