As we wade through our present energy crisis, I am hearing a lot more about nuclear energy as a viable option for a green future. And why shouldn’t I? It turns out that nuclear power already provides about 20% of my electricity–a large percentage when stood against solar power’s current numbers. It also turns out that nuclear power is a big part of John McCain’s energy plan.

So is nuclear power clean? Is it sustainable? How does solar power compare? These are just a few questions that immediately popped into my head. So now, I’ll try to answer them:

Is Nuclear Power Sustainable?

Nuclear Power, which is derived from the fission of uranium, plutonium, or thorium, is sustainable in that we have hundreds to thousands of years of usable uranium available. Although, I imagine that number might diminish over the years as demand increased (especially if we were to adopt nuclear as our primary power source). I should note that nuclear energy is not a renewable energy source…it’s just that there’s a lot of it.

Is Nuclear Power Clean?

Nuclear power, in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, is quite clean. It does not directly emit any greenhouse gases. However, the nuclear fuel cycle produces them indirectly, but at a drastically slower rate than fossil fuel sources.

Much of the debate over nuclear power has surrounded waste disposal. In the U.S. the solution has been to box it up and store it beneath the state of Nevada. This waste ranges from high-level to low-level waste, high-level being the stuff we all hear about, and low-level being clothes, gloves, materials used in the power plants, and other items exposed to radiation. Uranium can be reprocessed (for the plutonium) and used as a fuel in the plant itself. However, it is this reprocessing that facilitates the making of nuclear bombs.

How does Solar Compare to Nuclear Power?

Solar and Nuclear power each have their advantages. Although, at this time nuclear power would probably run away with the trophy if not for the environmental and political holdups. Here are their respective advantages, as I see them:

• Nuclear
  • would have an easier transition to a centralized grid system
  • already provides a good portion of our electricity
  • does not emit greenhouse gases
  • plenty of resource available
  • presently cheaper than solar power

• Solar
  • is a renewable energy source
  • available to anyone with a home (ignoring cost inhibitions)
  • has no volatile waste (other than panels which could likely be recycled)
  • several emerging technologies that can improve efficiency and central station generation abilities.

These are the advantages, put simply, that I can see right now. There are proponents of one, the other, or both. I see a brighter future for solar for three reasons:

1. It is completely, even daily, renewable.

2. Solar is fast advancing. We are likely on the cusp of a technological windfall for solar power.

3. The risks for nuclear power are high and unlikely to get resolved soon. So far it seems that, in an attempt to stop polluting the sky, we would throw our toxins into the ground.

Posted on August 4th in Going Solar by Dan.