Why Is Solar Energy Better Than Nuclear?

Walk around a neighborhood these days and there is a chance you will see a home or business with some sort of solar technology installed. The idea of solar energy has been around for decades and today, you are seeing companies and home owners utilize it more than ever says Dr. John Blackburn. A former Chancellor of Duke University, Blackburn currently works for a North Carolina non-profit organization called NC Warn.

The rise in popularity can be attributed to the cost of installing solar energy going down. In 2010, electricity from new solar installations became cheaper than nuclear in North Carolina for the first time. "Each and every stakeholder in North Carolina's energy sector — citizens, elected officials, solar power installers and manufacturers, and electric utilities — should recognize this watershed moment," said Blackburn.

Though Blackburn cautions that both solar and nuclear energy are still more costly than "present electricity generation" costs, it's abundantly clear that solar energy is becoming much cheaper. In addition to financial savings, Blackburn lists other advantages solar has over nuclear.

"Rooftop solar can be installed in a few days and can start producing electricity immediately," Blackburn said. Indeed, it can take up to ten years for people to wait for nuclear energy to come online. Another environmental advantage is the fact that solar energy doesn't waste water like a nuclear plant does. Billions of gallons of water are used at a nuclear plant each used in order to cool reactors.

Solar energy is also much safer. If people remember the horrific tsunami in Japan in 2011, you will recall that a nuclear plant in Fukushima had a nuclear metldown because workers were unable to keep the reactors cool and thus caused a small nuclear disaster. People of Pennsylvania who lived through the Three Mile Island nuclear crisis will also undoubtedly remember the panic that occurred in 1979.

With solar power becoming more affordable, more and more people, businesses and communities are utilizing the technology. Just this past October, Dauphin County Commissioners unveiled a solar farm that will offset up to 20% of the power usage at county facilities.

Sources:
Jim Blackburn appears courtesy of this story
www.ncwarn.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/NCW-SolarReport_final1.pdf

www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/10/dauphin_county_commissioners_u_2.html

www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/08/solar-and-nuclear-costs-the-historic-crossover