LETTERS

摘要

Gordon Brown and Nicholas Sarkozy are reported as planning to export nuclear power plants around the world. But there is a good alternative to this dirty, dangerous and expensive technology. I refer to 'concentrating solar power' (CSP), the technique of concentrating sunlight using mirrors to create heat then using that heat to raise steam and drive turbines and generators, just like a conventional power station. It is possible to store solar heat in melted salts so electricity generation can continue at night or on cloudy days. The technology has been generating electricity successfully in California since 1985 and now provides power for about 100,000 homes in the state. CSP plants are being planned or have been built in many parts of the world. Using CSP, less than one per cent of the Earth's hot deserts could generate all the electricity the world is using.