To the Editor:
Re "Nuclear Power Still Doesn't Make Much Sense," by Farhad Manjoo (column, Sept. 17):
Had development of small-scale cookie-cutter nuclear power plants and nuclear batteries not been sidetracked by prejudice drawn from past misadventures and a focus on giant facilities, and had alternative sources of energy not been so massively subsidized, nuclear would have already displaced wind and solar.
Farhad Manjoo is correct that large-scale nuclear plants are problematic, but intermittent, unreliable energy generation is not a cost-effective, feasible replacement. The cost of standby backup is very high, and hopes for batteries as utility energy storage have foundered on the competition for the scarce elements needed for their production.
Andrew I. Fillat
Henry I. Miller
Mr. Fillat has worked for venture capital firms and information technology companies. Dr. Miller is a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute.