Nuclear Power Vs Solar Power

Many countries have been investing in renewable energies sources for protecting their natural resources. The population and financial growth are the reasons for increased demand of energies that leads to problems like carbon footprint in the world and reliance on natural resources have reduced natural resources and if this continues then the resources will become extinct. Increased in the need for power production is due to change in climate and rising population. This report will be showing the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power versus solar power.

            Nuclear power is used for non-renewable power production with zero emission. Reduction of resources and energy demand has forced to look forward to nuclear energy as its source of energy from nucleus of an atom. Nuclear power is safer in comparison to the burning of fuels but it is still dangerous and harmful to health and environment (What is Nuclear Energy?, 2014). Solar power is the energy produced by sun with both light and heat.  This energy is a much safer method as it has zero percentage of emission while producing energy. But solar energy does not produce the required capacity of power required for the society. No fuel is required for production of solar energy and has no hidden cost in comparison to nuclear energy though installation and setup of solar energy is costly (Coffey, 2010).

            Nuclear power has the capacity for destruction and this can be due to human mistake. The critical damage that happened at Fukushima Daiichi or safety issues in test for cooling at Chernobyl has shown that humans have uncared for alerts earlier to nuclear disaster. In Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi accident, human played a main role and was caused due to ignorance to duties that cost several lives (Nelson, 2013). In terms of solar energy it’s yet to be proved that human element can cause disaster (Sevhoo, 2013). Reaction takes place in both cases of power generation. In nuclear plants reactions are used for heating and pressurizing steam while in solar panels its just absorption of radiation from the sun. However in nuclear power nuclear waste is a major problem as radioactive elements cannot be disposed. No one has come up with any solution for the disposal of nuclear wastes. In case of solar energy though there is no dangerous by-product but poisonous waste is a common issue in manufacturing of solar panels. As per reports the major manufactures of solar panel Solyndra in 2007 and 2011 produced around 12.5 millions pounds of harmful wastes (Sevhoo, 2013).

            One-inch uranium pellet has the ability to make around one ton coal for electricity generation and a single pellet produces large amount of energy. Higher cost for oil and gas have made nuclear power more attractive (What is Nuclear Energy?, 2014). Studies and facts have shown that nuclear energy is cheaper than solar energy. Solar power generations are flexible in comparison with nuclear reactors as these panels can be installed on rooftops but nuclear reactors cannot be installed at many locations. Thus solar energy is more resourceful as power can be generated using photovoltaic technology at offices and at home (Nelson, 2013). Another issue with solar power is that sun doesn’t shine at night and so alternative options are required for massive storage of energy. Although solar energy is a clean energy however there can be problems that may happen within years due to cloudy weather and other climatic conditions. Solar energy won’t have enough energy at night as well as due to bad weather conditions and therefore will not be able to provide the required energy for the city thus will have to depend on storage of energy.

            According to a report in The National researchers in MASDAR institute have been conducting analysis based on solar energy resources, electricity production, current status of solar energy project and its initiatives in United Arab Emirates. The major advantage of United Arab Emirates that should be utilized is that its geographical location as it lies in the Sun Belt region and thus is exposed to more sun. Thus United Arab Emirates gets 10 to 15 hours of sunshine per day which could be enough for the operations and for energy storage. Another advantage is that there are very little variations with the seasonal changes which can be fully utilized for the functioning of the solar system.

            In United Arab Emirates government has developed a city known as MADSAR which with solar energy facility to store and produce energy. These are currently used for heating water in buildings, cooling buildings another for desalination of water, street lighting etc. This proves that though United Arab Emirates is at its infant stage in terms of introduction to solar energy but has taken initiatives for a positive approach. Many other countries have also taken initiation in terms of solar power.

            Over billions of years the major source of energy for man and animal life is sun. Despite its possible and easy ways to access the solar power system it’s very rare in almost all courtiers around the globe. The major barriers to its implementation are its engineering and operational challenges. Solar energy system should be used as its capable, cost effective and clean source of energy. Thus solar power can become more practical considering its good impacts in future with the advancement in technology. Though nuclear power can provide the society will vast amount of energy supplies it’s not free from its bad impacts to the environment. To conclude, nuclear energy is too costly, dangerous and cannot be considered as a part of clean development system.

References:

 

Coffey, J. (2010 йил 15-September). What Is Solar Energy. From Universe Today: http://www.universetoday.com/73693/what-is-solar-energy/

Nelson, L. (2013 йил 2-August). Nuclear Versus Solar Power. From Conserve it forward: http://conserveitforward.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/nuclear-versus-solar-power/

Sevhoo. (2013 йил 1-August). Nuclear vs Solar: The Future of Humankind. From Greenfudge: http://www.greenfudge.org/2013/08/01/nuclear-vs-solar-the-future-of-humankind/

What is Nuclear Energy? (2014). From Converse Energy Future: http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/NuclearEnergy.php