All SONE articles


All articles and newsletters, most recent first

The SONE Silver Jubilee essay competition

To stimulate the imagination of the current generation, unfettered by the mistakes of their elders, Supporters Of Nuclear Energy (SONE) is offering two prizes, each of £1000, to mark the 25th anniversary of its foundation on 1 June 1998.


SONE Newsletter 285 – March 2023

Sir Bernard Ingham (1932-2023) — SONE, 25 years old in June — Centenaries for the Flying Scotsman and de Broglie Waves — HALEU fuel for small or micro reactors — Head winds for financing renewables, but nuclear too — Power plant build rate required in the UK — Simple UK stats presented by Dr Tim Stone.


SONE Newsletter 284 – February 2023

SONE escapes the clutches of the Green — Change in Whitehall — Poland, Canada, Estonia, USA — Japan supports extended reactor life times — Uranium mining and fuel milling — Enthusiasm from Korean shipping lines — MoltexFLEX — Equilibrion, a startup for hydrogen, heat and synfuels — Safety of ionising radiation — JET's impending retirement.


SONE Newsletter 283 – January 2023

News of New Nuclear in UK — Robert Oppenheimer’s name cleared — At the Science Museum — At the Frontier Energy 2050 Summit Conference — Review of Net Zero by Chris Skidmore MP — A view on low level nuclear waste — Wind energy.


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