The government and financial communities have a number of reasons for supporting nuclear energy over renewable energy right now. At the present, there is a sense of urgency in the United States decisions regarding what energy technologies to support. Fossil fuels are still supplying the bulk of all energy in the United States, as well as the emissions. This is a problem that the government is likely hoping to solve quickly and efficiently, which is where nuclear power comes in. Nuclear sources already supply around 20% of the United States energy with only 100 operating reactors (NEI 2014). A high energy capacity factor, at around 90%, also makes nuclear energy more enticing (NEI 2014). The United States has existing infrastructure for nuclear energy delivery, experience with this proven technology, and the ability to deliver a large demand load at high capacity with nuclear energy. Financially, these three factors make it a less risky investment. Essentially, nuclear power funding promises bigger results in the short term than renewable sources can. Renewable energy, unlike nuclear, comes from a diverse mix of sources, making funding it more complicated. Renewable energy sources have much lower energy capacities as well, wind for example, being around 45% (OpenEI). Renewable power is also distributed differently than nuclear is. Individuals and businesses purchasing renewables, like solar, are able to generate the energy for themselves, while nuclear power maintains reliance on a centralized source. This notion has implications on taxes and the economy, so it’s likely that the government and financial investors would be in support of the nuclear industry’s reliability for revenue flow and tax dollars. Overall, there are a few big issues that raise questions about the safety of nuclear power, but the government is highly susceptible to short-term tunnel vision. I believe that the support of nuclear over solar power ultimately comes down to pressure to quickly transition away from carbon intensive fossil fuels, nuclear energy’s proven applicability against the questions of viability for renewables, and a need to ‘do less and get more’ (in terms of capacity factor differences between renewables and nuclear power).

Nuclear Energy Institute. 2014. “US Nuclear Power Plants.” Accessed September 3, 2014. http://www.nei.org/Knowledge-Center/Nuclear-Statistics/US-Nuclear-Power-Plants.

OpenEI. “Transparent Cost Database – Capacity Factor.” Accessed September 3, 2014. http://en.openei.org/apps/TCDB/.

‘Renewable energy sources’ houses a number of technologies under its name. No matter what technologies win favor with consumers and businesses, there will need to be a way to make the energy sources optimally functional. Not everyone is interested in living ‘off the grid’ the way that I am, so I see opportunities in global renewable development in the accessibility of the renewable energy. Many entrepreneurial opportunities exist within achieving accessibility, including grid construction, energy transport efficiency, energy storage on the grid, and energy dispersal (smart grid technology). These opportunities exist primarily in the construction, engineering, and information technology industries. Not only do these opportunities exist, but they are safe. Building pipelines to transport polluting materials from one corner of the planet to another is highly controversial, dangerous, and would be expensive if an accident occurred. However, a grid carrying electricity from much more localized areas than pipelines are used for wouldn’t ruffle as many feathers. It won’t be enough to have the renewable technology, we will need a way to use it effectively.