He is also responsible for ensuring that the BBC fulfils its mission to inform, educate and entertain and promotes its public purposes.

BBC Broadcasting House                                                                      15 September 2017

London

W1A 1AA

For the attention of Ian Hargreaves CBE, Non-executive Director

Dear Mr Hargreaves,

Within ‘The Public Purpose’ of the BBC, it states: “…the BBC should provide duly accurate and impartial news, [and] current affairs…”

News 24 certainly provided accurate information by the bucketful about new offshore wind contracts. This piece by Roger Harrabin was continually reproduced on News 24 throughout the day:     http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41220948

‘New Nuclear’ was slated at every opportunity, comparing the £57.50/MWh offshore wind contracts against the Hinkley’s nuclear power £92.50/MWh rate. There was not so much as a mention of the existing 5.3 GW of offshore wind enjoying incomes at £140/MWh.

Indeed, Professor Grub when interviewed, reacted to the £57.50/MWh news by declaring:  "...the energy revolution really did happen and this is the moment we knew it was working...".

One day later, Rolls-Royce issued this Press Release:     https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/press-releases/yr-2017/12-09-2017-rr-british-small-nuclear-plants-can-deliver-low-cost-low-carbon-electricity.aspx

It states:  Small Modular Reactor (SMR) capable of delivering electricity at £60 per MWh

What did we get from BBC News 24 and Roger Harrabin – Nothing!

You will be aware of the intermittency issue of wind power and the need for gas-fired back-up plant. But there are other far reaching environmental issues also:

6 of Rolls-Royce’s 440 MW SMRs, on 0.08 sq km sites, would deliver more 24/7 electricity than the 10,975 MW of UK current onshore wind capacity, comprising of 6,394 wind turbines occupying about 1,450 sq km.

For each unit of electricity delivered, nuclear power plants only uses 5% of the metals and 10% of the concrete used by wind farms.

Nuclear power plants deliver for 60 years; wind farms last 25 years. That 10,975 MW of onshore wind farm capacity would have to be built a 2^nd time and be 10 years into the 3^rd build before the same amount of electricity was delivered. That’s a ‘lifespan factor’ of X2.4, meaning:  2,640 MW of nuclear power plant will deliver more electricity than 26,340 MW of onshore wind farms.

I would greatly appreciate you letting me know why, quite overtly, the BBC does not provide duly accurate and impartial news from one day – a fanfare for £57.50/MWh intermittent electricity, to the next – nothing for £60/MWh 24/7 electricity.

Yours sincerely,