Scheer calls nuclear power stupid

Ushering in a nuclear renaissance in efforts to overcome the climate crisis is "totally stupid and totally irresponsible," said German renewable energy superstar Hermann Scheer.

Scheer spoke to an industry group assembled at Google headquarters last night in Mountain View, California, the heart of Silicon Valley, promoting a latest book.

Scheer is president of EUROSOLAR, general chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy, president of the International Parliamentary Forum on Renewable Energies and member of the German Bundestag.

He's also the one most frequently credited for Germany's EEG feed-in tariff in 2003 that turned Germany, virtually overnight, into the world's single biggest market for solar products.

Scheer spoke on wide-ranging topics, but had particularly critical views of nuclear energy.

Strong statements from Hermann Scheer (photo) >>

Not mincing words, Scheer said it was "a lie" that nuclear doesn't contribute to the climate crisis.

"Nuclear power stations produce heat that wouldn't be in the atmosphere without nuclear plants. Mounting CO2 emissions in the atmosphere prevent heat from leaving the atmosphere as it had before."

Nuclear proponents cite zero greenhouse gas emissions, less radiation than coal, gas or oil, the lowest overall long term cost structure of any fuel and less damage to rivers than major hydro projects.

Scheer said it was "a myth to speak of the future opportunity of having cheap nuclear energy," saying a future with nuclear power holds costs that advocates don't often cite.

"We have maybe 50-60 years of uranium left. Seriously pursuing nuclear power would mean having to move to fast breeder technology, but an operational well-functioning fast breeder reactor doesn't exist yet anywhere in the world.

If it did exist, it would cost much more than present nuclear facilities," he said [ed.: an argument reminiscent of cellulosic ethanol's detractors.]

By contrast, Scheer said that renewable energy sources like solar and wind represented infinite energy, and a promise for the first time in history that energy production could be located close to where it's consumed. Nuclear plants and oil infrastructure, he pointed out, were centralized.

Another drawback of nuclear, and other conventional energy production, said Scheer, is its high water consumption rate. Heat-based power plants, like nuclear, are based on steam processes, and therefore require large volumes of water.

In the U.S., Scheer said, more than 50% of all fresh water consumed in the country is used by power plants.

Finally, in developing countries, where energy needs are greatest, he cautioned that nuclear energy options were the least advisable.

"The nuclear power industry has directly contributed to nuclear weaponry threats. The danger of proliferation today is much higher than it was 15 years. Look to Iraq, look to North Korea, look to other countries."

"A stable country is an absolute prerequisite for nuclear power."