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Environmental Impact Statement - radioactive monticello

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<strong>Environmental</strong> <strong>Impact</strong>s of Alternatives<br />

8.2.6.3 Solar Power<br />

Solar technologies use the sun's energy and light to provide heat and cooling, light, hot water,<br />

and electricity for homes, businesses, and industry. The two leading solar technologies are<br />

photovoltaic and solar thermal. Photovoltaic devices use semiconducting materials that absorb<br />

sunlight and convert it directly into electricity. Solar thermal devices use direct heat from the<br />

sun, concentrating it in some manner (such as by reflection) to heat a transfer fluid to useful<br />

temperatures. In the GElS, the staff noted that by its nature, solar power is intermittent.<br />

Therefore, solar power by itself is not suitable for baseload capacity and is not a feasible<br />

alternative to license renewal at Monticello. The average capacity factor of photovoltaic cells is<br />

about 25 percent, and the capacity factor for solar thermal systems is about 25 percent to<br />

40 percent. Solar power, in conjunction with energy storage mechanisms, might serve as a<br />

means of providing baseload power. However, current energy storage technologies are too<br />

expensive to permit solar power to serve as a large baseload generator. In addition, solar<br />

technologies require high operation and maintenance cost, due to the need to clean reflectors<br />

or collectors to ensure efficient operation.<br />

Therefore, solar power technologies (photovoltaic and thermal) cannot currently compete with<br />

conventional fossil-fueled technologies in grid-connected applications, due to high costs per<br />

kilowatt of capacity (NRC 1996).<br />

There are substantial impacts to natural resources (wildlife habitat, land-use, and aesthetic<br />

impacts) from construction of solar-generating facilities. .As stated in the GElS, land<br />

requirements are high-approximately 14,000 ac per 1000 MW(e) for solar thermal and<br />

35,000 ac per 1000 MW(e) for photovoltaic systems. Approximately 8000 and 21,000 ac would<br />

be required for 600 MW(e) of solar thermal or solar photovoltaic generating capability,<br />

respectively, to replace the Monticello site. Neither type of solar electric system could be<br />

accommodated at the Monticello site, and both would have large environmental impacts at a<br />

greenfield site.<br />

The Monticello site receives approximately 3.3 to 4.4 kWh of solar radiation per square meter<br />

per day, compared to 6 to 8 kWh of solar radiation per square meter per day in areas of the<br />

western United States, such as California, which are most promising for solar technologies<br />

(NMC 2005). Some solar power may substitute for electric power in rooftop and building<br />

applications. Implementation of non-rooftop solar generation on a scale large enough to<br />

replace Monticello would likely result in LARGE environmental impacts.<br />

Because of the natural resource impacts (land and ecological), the area's relatively low rate of<br />

solar radiation, and high cost, solar power is not deemed a feasible baseload alternative to<br />

renewal of the Monticello OL. However, the staff recognizes that distributed solar power can<br />

provide generation and that during the license renewal period generation from solar power<br />

could continue to grow.<br />

NUREG-1 437, Supplement 26 8-46 August 2006 1

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