Find the Niche- Reichart

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Nuclear energy receives are larger amount of support than renewable projects due to the scale of the project. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration Grand Coulee Dam in the state of Washington, produces 7,079 net megawatts. Compare that to a wind turbine, our largest ones will produce about 5 megawatts. Don’t bother grabbing a calculator, that’s 1416 of the largest wind turbines. The largest wind farm in the world right now is located in Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center Texas, it has 421. (EIA, 2014) To seal the deal even more, I just drove by about 20 wind turbines in West Virginia, two were not functioning. So let’s move on to solar, the largest power station is Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California, peaking at 392 megawatts. Again nuclear outperforms. I do not want readers to feel that I am against solar and wind power, because I would love to see more. Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center’s wind turbines produce enough energy for about 220,000 homes per year, that’s great! (EIA, 2014) But nuclear has much more power. Despite the media, we trust nuclear. The USA produces the most nuclear power compared to other countries. France generates a little over half as much (769kwh USA & 405kwh FR [billion]) and they rely on nuclear for about 75% of their electric! Finally, our nuclear plants are already being overused. In 2012 10% of our capacity is nuclear, while 19% of electric generated came from nuclear power. (EIA, 2014)- See chart below

Just because nuclear power outperforms solar and wind does not mean we will not see plenty of opportunities for them. I foresee solar being used residential wherever possible while prices continue to decrease. The great thing out solar power is that residential homeowners can actually do it. A wind turbine would not be quite as easy in a sub-division or sub-urban neighborhood. Watch Windfall on Netflix, for a good example. As wind turbines grow in popularity and strength, let’s set a short term goal. 11 states have zero wind turbines (mainly in the Southwest, hurricanes issue?) why not lower that to 5 or zero. (DOE, 2014)

nuclear_capacity_2012-large

Mike Reichart

“Installed Wind Capacity.” WINDExchange: U.S. DOE, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 05 Sept. 2014.
“Ivanpah Solar Power Facility.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 May 2014. Web. 05 Sept. 2014.
“U.S. Nuclear Industry.” Nuclear. U.S. Energy Information Administration, 15 May 2014. Web. 5 Sept. 2014.

This entry was posted in Lesson 02 - Searching for Niche and tagged , , , , by Frank Michael Reichart. Bookmark the permalink.

About Frank Michael Reichart

My name is Frank (Michael) Reichart. I currently live in Cambridge Springs PA, it is a small town about an hour South of Lake Erie and PSU Behrend. When I look back to think about what made me want to obtain a degree in the sustainability field, it is actually really unclear. At first I always felt that I had to do something business related, and never even gave anything else a fighting chance. Nearly everybody in my family has or has had a business of their own, so I just always thought that I would, as well. But it was in 2009 that I took my first class about the planet at PSU Behrend,and I have to admit that I just soaked it up like a sponge. Even after leaving Behrend for two years I continued to do research and learn what I could about energy and the Earth. So now I am back at PSU and studying in a field that I am passionate about and am very excited. -Mike Reichart

One thought on “Find the Niche- Reichart”

  1. Mike, I think you hit the nail on the head. Nuclear is simply capable of producing so much more power than renewable energy right now. Looking at the numbers you posted, makes the difference really clear. Wind and solar might be the future, and I hope their use increases, but currently its not really practical to imagine it taking over nuclear or even fossil fuels.

    http://engr312.dutton.psu.edu/2014/09/05/lesson-2-liston-jackson/

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