All SONE articles


All articles and newsletters, most recent first

The failure of wind as a reliable source of electrical energy

The plan to cut the combustion of fossil fuels was accepted at the 2015 Paris Conference. The instinctive reaction around the world has been to revert to “Renewables”, the sources of energy replenished intermittently by the power of the Sun. Unfortunately this power, attenuated by the huge distance that it must travel to reach the Earth, is extremely weak.


Energy for 2030 and 2050: The non-negotiable requirements of science, economics, and the environment

A short in-person lecture given at the Frontier Energy 2050 Summit Conference, 24 Nov 2022, organised by Frontier Energy, and sponsored by various energy interests.


Why nuclear energy should be powering shipping safely by 2050

Slides with notes of a brief talk given at the first international in-person conference for shipping interests organised by CORE POWER at the Science Museum, 6 Oct 2022.


SONE Newsletter 282 – December 2022

Happy Christmas — Sizewell C — Nuclear power in Scotland — Electricity price fluctuations — Production of electricity as the wind speed changes — Hydro — Low Dose Radiation and Hormesis.


Hydrogen Storage — How Much Will it Help?

There has been relentless pressure over the last 25 years to reduce UK CO₂ emissions. Carbon emissions in the electricity sector were reduced until 2020, but have started to rise again. There is very little scope for reducing the sector emissions further, since renewables require secure back up from either gas or coal-fired generation. Can hydrogen storage help?


SONE Newsletter 281 – October/November 2022

Sizewell C — Annual General Meeting — Education needed on a grand scale — News from EDF, Moltex, and Rolls Royce — “The Big Mistake”: a discussion — Renewables and batteries in trouble — The World’s First Nuclear Maritime Conference — SONE on Twitter.


Achieving Net Zero by 2050

A presentation by Candida Whitmill of Penultimate Power UK Ltd, given at SONE's 2022 Annual General Meeting. It describes the use of EnergiHabu™ High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors for industrial heating applications.


SONE Newsletter 280 – September 2022

Notice of AGM — Who is moving nuclear energy ahead in the UK? — What is obstructing the roll out of SMR technology? — Diablo Canyon and German power stations saved - for now!


Confidence in nuclear energy: The acceptance of evidence should replace traditional caution

Though an ideal energy source, nuclear made an unfortunate entry into world affairs. The inhibition that surrounds it obstructs the optimum solution to real dangers today – climate change, the supply of water, food and energy, and socio-economic stability.


SONE Newsletter 279 – August 2022

RIP James Lovelock — News of nuclear reactors from around the world — The Threshold Conference.


SONE Newsletter 278 – July 2022

Steering public opinion — European Taxonomy — Opinion in Germany — A view from Switzerland — Press comment from US that includes some praise for the UK — Faith in batteries — Don Wiles.


SONE Newsletter 277 – June 2022

The variety of new designs for nuclear energy plants is extraordinary! — Finnish Greens go nuclear! — Cavendish Nuclear and X-energy collaboration — International standardisation: Yes please — Emergency Reactor


The only source of energy sufficient on its own

To face the changing climate the world must forgo the medium- and long-term use of fossil fuels and stop deluding itself that renewables controlled by the vagaries of the weather can be a reliable replacement. We have long neglected the provision of the science education that would ensure that everybody trusts the workings of the natural world around them.


Nuclear's role in the future energy supply

A talk on the merits of nuclear by Neville Chamberlain given at a seminar on the future of energy organised by the Worshipful Company of Fuellers and EY in London in May 2022.


Nuclear is the only answer to our energy transition

Finding sufficient energy is essential to all life. Humans have excelled at this, notably when they studied and overcame their innate fear of fire some 600,000 years ago. (First published in “The New Statesman”.)


SONE Newsletter 276 – May 2022

Nuclear in Government energy strategy — Diablo Canyon closure deferred — Mothers for Nuclear Deutschland — Renewables and batteries in trouble — Morocco interconnection