EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 15 (UPI) -- The chief scientific adviser to the Scottish Executive says the country must continue to rely on nuclear power as a backup to renewable energy sources.
Wilson Sibbett, director of research in physics and astronomy at the University of St. Andrew's, told The Scotsman that generating electricity from winds, waves and tides is too unreliable to meet the goals set by the executive. Officials want renewables to provide 40 percent of Scotland's electricity by 2020.
Britain's plans to subsidize renewable sources of energy have set off a race to get into the business. In Scotland, developers have plans to set up as many as 70 wind farms.
There have also been calls to build new nuclear power plants, but First Minister Jack McConnell has said he will not endorse new construction until the industry figures out how to dispose of nuclear waste.
But Sibbett disagrees.
"I think there is the understanding that nuclear power will have to play some role, and whether you decide to maintain the current stations or contemplate building a new one, that has to be part of the equation," he said.
