Plan to use more nuclear power will meet practical obstacles

I agree with William Yu Yuen-ping of WWF-Hong Kong ('Reduce consumption before buying more nuclear power', September 25). He advocated stronger polices to reduce consumption of energy as an effective way to reduce carbon emissions.

I also agree that the Hong Kong government lacks determination and vision by relying heavily on nuclear energy.

I wish to point out some of the problems of nuclear energy besides safety and radioactive waste management.

It takes five to 10 years of planning, building and testing before a nuclear power station can be fully commissioned.

If the government expects nuclear supply to increase from 23 to 50 per cent within 10 years, a lot of nuclear plant projects must be started immediately. However, details of such plans are unclear. The capital costs for constructing a nuclear plant are enormous.

To plan for so many new power plants within a short period is not financially feasible. While nuclear energy in its purest sense is carbon emission-free, enormous amounts of hydrocarbon and electricity are required to enrich uranium to be ready for use in a nuclear power plant.