With the Swiss government aiming to replace nuclear energy, experts are looking at solar to provide for the country’s energy needs in the future.
In 2011, the Swiss parliament decided not to build any more nuclear power plants after the Fukushima disaster in Japan. As nuclear currently supplies some 40 percent of the country’s energy needs, they are in search of ways to replace the energy source with cleaner alternatives. Solar is being debated as the front-runner to use as a replacement and plans are in the works to use the technology to replace at least one half the nuclear power used now. Representatives from the solar and the electricity industries are at odds as to whether it is viable, with solar industry insiders saying they can meet 20 percent of needs by 2025 and electric companies saying gas-fired plants are the way to go. However, the government doesn’t want to go with gas-fired plants as it won’t allow it to meet carbon emission reduction goals.
Also up for debate is whether solar power should be fully subsidized by the government in order to expedite installations or if electricity providers should play a wait and watch game to see if prices of photovoltaics come down anytime soon. Germany is heavily subsidizing renewables and have so far succeeded in setting a world record for solar power production, generating nearly 50 percent of the nation’s midday electricity demand in May. That’s the energy equivalent of 20 nuclear power plants operating at full capacity.
In order to garner support from its citizens, rooftop solar plants are being discussed as the way to move forward with solar energy plans. They are less intrusive (visually and spatially) than full-sized solar or wind farms and thus more acceptable to local residents. But solar won’t fulfill all the country’s energy needs and thus it will have to find additional ways to generate electricity if it is to meet its goal of getting off nuclear altogether.
“The other half of the energy currently supplied by nuclear power plants could be made up by using a mix of wind and biomass, and later, geothermal and small hydropower plants,” said Franz Baumgartner, a professor of renewable energies at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. In winter, for example, the country would be hard pressed to generate enough electricity from solar power alone. Options would include importing energy created by wind farms in the Baltic Sea or from solar plants in the deserts of Africa.
However they make it happen, it is some very welcome news that Switzerland wants to replace nuclear energy with clean renewables.
[via swissinfo]
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