Can Solar Panels Replace Nuclear Energy?

A traditional view is that solar power is cool and hip but doesn’t have nearly the production muscle that nuclear has. Solar panels are certainly safer than nuclear energy, but will they ever be able to replace nuclear power plants? One blogger, Dan Hahn, seems to think that solar can replace nuclear.

Dan Hahn writes that in 2010, enough solar panels were shipped and installed to produce the equivalent energy of seventeen nuclear power plants. Each nuclear power plant can produce one gigawatt of energy annually. In 2010 alone, new solar panel systems generated seventeen gigawatts, the same amount of energy as seventeen nuclear power plants. Not only is solar power safer than nuclear power, but nuclear plants can take years, even decades, to build. Solar panel installation helps get people the power they need without having to wait decades. The relative ease of solar panel installation is another reason solar panels might one day replace nuclear power plants.

Another argument for solar versus nuclear is that residential solar panels have been decreasing in cost. In the past, solar panel installation has been too expensive for most homeowners to be able to afford. However, this might be already starting to change. Dan Hahn writes that the price of a residential solar panel system is decreasing. He writes that in many areas of the country, Baltimore for example, residential solar panels can pay for themselves “in just six years” so cites one Baltimore residential solar installer. Solar panels are not just good for the environment, but they are also good for consumers' wallets as well.

The decreasing costs of residential solar panel systems and ever-growing environmental awareness bodes well for the future of solar power - especially to the tune of 17 gigawatts of power generated last year! There is hope that this green technology will one day be able to power many of our homes and businesses, safely and affordably. A solar-powered future is a bright, safe future.