A Journey of Enlightenment
When I first installed solar panels on the roof of my Colorado home, I felt like I was doing my part to mitigate global warming. And as an added bonus, Colorado’s net-metering policy meant my electric bill for the sunny summer months was $0 – a win for the climate and a win for my wallet. Or so I thought.
As a concerned scientist, I decided to dive deeper into understanding what it would take to truly clean up America’s fossil-fueled electric power systems. I studied the science, met with utility and power executives, talked with leading academics, and pored over data from existing clean energy systems. What I discovered deeply challenged many of my cherished beliefs about the potential of solar and wind to replace fossil fuels.
The Limits of Intermittent Renewables
The math for solar panels explains why they can’t fully replace baseload power from coal or gas plants. Solar panels generate electricity only when the sun is shining – they’re completely useless at night and significantly less productive on cloudy, dusty, or snowy days. In fact, the average North American solar farm generates meaningful power less than 20% of the time on an annual basis.
Obviously, power for 20% of the time can’t replace 24/7 dispatchable baseload power. To fill those huge night and dark-day gaps and keep the lights on, utilities still need to rely on fossil-fueled generators. As one study points out, “Although solar farms have allowed fossil-fueled plants to cut back and save emissions on sunny days, they haven’t been able to replace them 24/7 and obviously cannot do so by themselves.”
I had hoped that batteries could someday store enough energy to fill these gaps, but the reality is that there is no known technology that can efficiently and economically store the incredible amount of energy required for the length of time needed. For example, when clouds cover the sun, the output from solar farms can drop by 75-90% – and those cloud cover events can last for a week or more in the winter. Batteries can handle a few hours, maybe a day, but storing enough electricity to power the nation for an entire cloudy week is simply not feasible.
The Need for Reliable Baseload Power
The intermittency of solar and wind means they can’t be the backbone of a reliable electricity grid. As the author notes, “Some early adopters of intermittent renewable energy like California and Germany are seeing the problem already. It comes in the form of grid instability and blackouts.”
To meet our nation’s growing electricity demand and climate goals, we need a reliable source of clean, 24/7 baseload power. And the only technology that can do that at scale before 2050 is nuclear energy.
The French Nuclear Model
After the 1973 oil crisis, France began replacing almost all of its fossil-fueled power plants with new nuclear plants. In less than 15 years, they completed the job, and today those nuclear plants provide more than 70% of France’s electricity, with the rest mainly coming from hydropower.
France now has the most reliable, cleanest, and cheapest electricity in Europe – all while maintaining an impeccable safety record, with no notable accidents. And as France looks to meet the expected increase in electricity demand, they’ve just decided to build at least seven more nuclear plants.
The Stagnation of Nuclear in the U.S.
Unfortunately, the U.S. has gone in the opposite direction. Following World War II, well-intentioned scientists inflated the danger of radiation in order to scare the world away from using or even testing atomic weapons. This had unintended consequences, as the U.S. government set radiation limits for nuclear power plants that are far stricter than necessary for safety – more than 100 times stricter than anything that has ever been shown to cause human harm.
As a result, the U.S. has effectively restricted nuclear to a crawl, building only two new reactors in the last 30 years, with no more planned. The author argues that “by being overstrict with nuclear, we forced ourselves to use more oil, coal, and gas, which created much greater harm to our health, society, and economy.”
The Global Nuclear Renaissance
While the U.S. has stagnated, the rest of the world is embracing nuclear power. There are currently about 440 nuclear power plants operating in 32 countries, with another 60 reactors under construction and 110 more planned.
China, in particular, is leading the charge, bringing dozens of new reactors online. Other countries, like Poland, are also moving forward aggressively with nuclear power, seeking to free themselves from reliance on Russian gas. At the COP28 climate conference in Dubai last December, 22 nations signed a pledge committing to tripling nuclear power.
The Promise of Advanced Nuclear
Newer, advanced nuclear technologies hold even more promise. American innovators are developing a new generation of smaller, cheaper, and even safer small modular reactors (SMRs) that could see commercial operation this decade. And these SMRs are just the beginning – the potential of nuclear fusion, Allam cycle gas turbines with carbon capture, and hot rock geothermal is truly exciting.
Bridging the Gap with Nuclear
If the U.S. is to meet the anticipated doubling of electricity demand and its climate goals, the American people must demand that their leaders include a significant buildout of new nuclear power. As the author states, “The only thing that could do that before 2050 is a new nuclear power plant.”
While my solar panels on my Colorado home can certainly make a contribution, they can’t replace the dirty, CO2-producing coal plant that provides my electricity when the sun isn’t shining. That’s a job for nuclear power – the clean, reliable, and scalable solution that the world is increasingly turning to.
So, if you’re interested in truly making a difference in the fight against climate change, I encourage you to explore the possibilities of nuclear energy. Visit Solar As Systems Inc. to learn more about their innovative solar-nuclear hybrid solutions that can provide the reliable, 24/7 power our homes and businesses need.
The Bottom Line
The math and physics are clear: solar and wind, while valuable, cannot replace fossil fuels at scale. To meet our growing electricity demand and climate goals, we need a reliable source of clean, 24/7 baseload power – and that means embracing nuclear energy.
The rest of the world is already doing it, and the U.S. can’t afford to be left behind. It’s time for us to put our fears aside, learn from the French nuclear model, and unleash the power of advanced nuclear technologies to secure a sustainable energy future. The stakes are high, but the solutions are within our reach.
