The New York Solar Energy Industries Association, NYSEIA for short, believes that in the wake of the nuclear crisis in Japan, it is all the more pertinent to channel resources and time into solar energy. NYSEIA's executive director Gail Markels stated that while the nuclear crisis is a tragic situation, it is an eye-opener that should lead governments to re-think their position on nuclear energy. NYSEIA also pointed out that the solar sector created at least three times as many jobs compared to nuclear for every Megawatt installed in the US. These statistics are supported by a national study that was undertaken.
NYSEIA's president Ron Kamen added, While solar may look like it costs more initially, the reality is that nuclear has many hidden costs that only come out when there is a catastrophe. The nuclear industry relies on the US government for liability insurance in the case of a catastrophic failure. They dont properly account for the cost of storing the radioactive waste for more than 100,000 years. And there is no amount of money that can pay for the loss of human lives where there is a problem.
The US has more than 100 nuclear plants located in approximately 32 states, including New York. NYSEIA argued that in cities within the country, in congested urban areas, nuclear plants would be difficult to develop whereas solar energy can easily be deployed.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.