Renewable energy projects are failing to receive the same degree of support because it takes longer to receive the benefits of the projects and make up the initial cost. Nuclear is expensive to construct but still cheaper than the other options and the payback time is pretty quick. Renewable energy projects like solar and wind come at a higher cost and take up more land than nuclear compared to the energy they produce. If a financial institution decides to invest in power, they want to get their initial investment as quick as possible and nuclear offers that.
One opportunity I see is developing buildings using renewable energy in other countries. It is much easier to build a building from the ground up using PVs than to reconstruct a previous building to add on the PVs. Developing countries offer this opportunity to build from the ground up. Once they have been established and proven to lower energy costs and operate off the grid, then others will want to copy that idea. Another perk of building using renewable sources in developing countries is an opportunity to create jobs. Locals can be taught and then help build solar operating buildings, creating more opportunities of employment. Especially places like Africa, where there is an ample amount of sunlight and the need to reliable buildings, renewable energy projects would flourish here!
Hi Kaitlyn,
My name is Cynthia, I appreciate your thoughts on renewable energy versus nuclear energy. I do like your ideas about building solar energy in developing countries, I actually have a friend, Mark Miller (we call him Sparky) that is doing exactly that! He works with a non-profit organization called Plenty Belize and has installed solar energy projects in schools, farms, parks, Mayan villages, and remote homes in Belize. It’s pretty amazing what they are doing, if you’d like to learn about it you can check out this website – http://plentybelize.wordpress.com/solar-computer-internet-lab-in-remote-maya-village/
Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts,
Cynthia
That’s a perspective I had not thought of before, investing in new construction in developing countries. We often focus so much on what can be done locally so that we see the immediate payback, why not shift that focus to a macro level and invest in projects abroad. Knowing the amount of money it took to convert the city building where I live to net zero, along with swapping out the government fleet to more fuel efficient options, starting from ground zero and building up would have been a much more cost effective method.