Renewables vs. Nuclear

There are many reasons why renewable energy technologies do not receive as much financing and government support as nuclear energy. A major shortcoming of most renewable energy technologies is intermittency and a dependence upon the weather. Solar and wind projects develop models that predict how much energy they will produce over their useful life, but these models are based on weather forecasts and historical data that may not always be reliable. There are also often more energy-producing components in a typical renewable energy installation, like many solar panels or wind turbines, and if one or more of these components is not producing as it should, it can have a significant impact on the overall energy produced. This variability makes renewable energy a less appealing prospect for financing, which relies on the energy produced to repay the loan. Nuclear energy facilities are large, centralized producers that experience far less unanticipated variability in energy output. Nuclear facilities also have a longer operating history with more favourable performance than most renewable energy technologies, which makes the technology more mature and a safer investment.

In terms of government policy, renewable energy installations are often more expensive per unit of energy produced than nuclear facilities, and require larger land areas than nuclear. There is also a political component to the support of nuclear energy over renewables – many of the owners and developers of nuclear facilities are wealthy energy companies and utilities, which can provide more campaign donation contributions than more grassroots-oriented renewable energy companies.

Globally, there are a great deal of opportunities to apply renewable technologies in less developed areas where there is limited access to a national electric grid. The distributed nature of renewable technologies like solar power, geothermal, and biodigestor systems are ideally suited to rural villages in places like India and Africa. Island nations can also make great use of renewable technologies because their imported fuels costs are so expensive, that renewable technologies become cost competitive much more easily.