Nuclear Power vs Solar Power    

 

The climate change is a major global concern that perpetuates the need for better and sustainable energy sources. For this reason, several researchers and governments are selling the idea of clean energy based on various platforms including solar and nuclear power. Sustainable development involves the ability to meet the current needs of the society without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainability encompasses development in both the social and economic aspects, as well as environmental conservation; therefore, a sustainable option addresses the challenge of climate change. This paper discusses sustainability based on nuclear and solar power sources. Therefore, in arguing the case of choosing between nuclear power and solar power, the main issue is its sustainability. The main ethical concerns take note of safety, waste management, and carbon emissions.

            One of the challenges associated with power production is the ability to ensure it does not mean that the safety of the society is compromised. To begin with, nuclear power is ranked as the most dangerous form of energy that poses a high level of risk to people. Nuclear power plants produce radioactive material that, despite the many efforts to ensure safety is released to water and air. Studies show that long-term consumption of radioactive material causes cancer and birth defects. In addition, the risk of nuclear power plants increases with time; therefore, most should be stopped and closed within forty years. The challenge of safety involved in nuclear power production is clear in the fact that accidents are tragic. For example, Chernobyl and Fukushima plants accidents resulted in a number of deaths and affected the environment making it unviable for people to stay. Several states have come up with nuclear production regulations expected to solve some of the security challenges. On the other hand, solar power production requires photovoltaic material such as cadmium, which is highly toxic. Most countries banned the use of the materials in solar systems. However, in comparing the two sources of power, nuclear remains a bigger safety risk.

            Waste is another social concern that in many cases raises ethical issues. In this case, a comparison between solar and nuclear power shows that the latter requires a lot of resources for waste management. As stated, nuclear power production results in radioactive waste that requires specialized means of management and storage. It is important to note that the radioactive waste material can be used to make nuclear weapons. This may be a challenge in this case because it makes the nuclear weapons available. Currently, there is no viable solution for long-term storage or treatment of the waste for disposal available. The radioactive material is stored in underground or surface-level bunkers that require special safety measures to ensure that the material does not leak. However, the fact that the radioactive elements of the waste have a half-life is a considerable break. This means that the elements lose their radioactivity – they decay and become non-radioactive – in half the time they would normally take. The material can then be disposed of safely. In contrast to nuclear, solar power production does not necessarily give waste that needs special attention. Therefore, in this case solar power production is sustainable socially, economically and doesn't pose problems to the environment.

            The main reason for climatic change is carbon emissions that cause global warming. Both solar and nuclear power sources are considered cleaner sources of energy compared to other common ones such as old fuels. The need to minimize climatic changes is one of the major global concerns. Most companies include plans to reduce carbon emissions as one of the goals of sustainable development. It is a popular belief that nuclear is the cleanest source of energy because it has zero carbon emissions. However, as proven by studies based on the entire cycle of its production, this is not entirely true. In this case, the researchers attribute carbon emissions to processes such as mining, enrichment, and production of uranium. Solar power also has carbon emissions that occur in producing particles. The particles contribute to electrical-conversion efficiency; however, trends indicate that the amount is reducing due to the fact that current technologies produce thinner wafers. Solar power initially resulted in more carbon emissions than nuclear power, but the improving photovoltaic technologies have led to lower rates in the former. Therefore, solar power has managed to address the issue better than nuclear power production.

            Nuclear and solar power production methods involve significant costs in both the initial and maintenance aspects. In this case, the cost is an ethical concern based on the tax burden that the government may put on people to support subsidies and the affordability of the resulting product to consumers.  A solar photovoltaic system may require approximately the same amount of setup costs as a nuclear power plant. However, solar systems require significantly lower funds in maintenance compared to nuclear plants. The immense costs of maintenance in nuclear power production come from repairs, safety, and waste management. Solar systems require fewer repairs and costs in energy storage, which nuclear systems do not need. In most cases, both methods require government subsidies to enable them to reduce their costs of operation. In the case of costs to consumers, nuclear power is considerably cheaper based on facts from Europe and the United States. The reason for the difference is that a nuclear plant can produce significantly more power compared to the solar system that costs the same amount to setup. Therefore, nuclear power is more affordable compared to solar power.

            Based on the information about the two energy sources, solar power is better that nuclear power. First, the fact that nuclear energy remains the most dangerous source is good enough to warrant its minimal application. Over the years, nuclear plant accidents that occurred resulted in major environmental degradation and effects on the general society. An ethical view of this concern indicates that it is not worth it since nuclear power results in long-term dangers to the entire society. However, solar energy does not cause any high risk to society that cannot be averted. Crystalline and polycrystalline silicon replaced the use of cadmium. Second, nuclear plants produce waste that remains a major challenge in managing. As stated, there is no method of storing the radioactive waste that is live for the long-term. This means that with time some of the waste may leak. On the other hand, solar power does not result in any dangerous waste; this means it is more manageable and less dangerous to the society and environment. Finally, it is clear that technologies involved in solar power production are improving to curb the challenge of carbon emissions. Therefore, the method addresses the concern whereas nuclear power production remains with the same problem. Ideally, it would be better to resolve the issue of carbon emissions, but many governments attempt to sell the idea that nuclear is the cleanest source of energy. In the long run, the problem remains as the focus on nuclear production is on improving its safety. Despite the fact that nuclear power is cheaper, its negative effects seem worse. For instance, the difference of cost to consumers in Arizona is only 30 dollars per megawatt hour, which is not good enough to warrant the government to overlook the other ethical concerns.

            There is a strong argument against the application of nuclear power compared to solar power. Nuclear power poses significant ethical issues that are detrimental to the realization of sustainability in energy production. The source of power seems to affect the social and environmental aspects more than the economic aspects. Nuclear power production is a safety concern, creates a major waste management problem and does not address the carbon emissions issues as in the case of solar power production.  Nuclear power is not a sustainable source of energy in comparison to solar power.