More electricity is being generated by renewables than from nuclear power plants in the US and it looks like its going to stay that way. Nuclear plants are closing, and scheduled to close, faster than they are being brought online and renewables, like solar and wind are growing rapidly. Natural gas surpassed coal as #1 in the US and given the pace of coal plant closures and the growth in wind and solar, it won't be many years before coal falls even further.
According to this article six nuclear reactors have closed since 2013 and six more will close in the next 4 years.
Solar and wind (and battery/storage) costs continue to drop while nuclear remains a very expensive option and is time-consuming to permit and build.
There are many reasons for the falling costs of renewables, but scientific advancements are a big one. The efficiency of many different types of solar cells continues to grow while demand provides benefits of scale:
Check out this comparison of energy costs by source:
I plan to post a lot more on the topic, but for now I have to run to work!
Feel free to check out my other posts on science, photography, volunteer computing, sustainability, cryptocurrencies with a purpose, and travel. Here are some of my favorites:
Photography and Travel
Hawaii – Lava and Plants
Death to Snowballs!
End of the Road – Lava!
Sunset Over Mt. Tamalpais, California
Toque Macaques in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka
Birds on San Francisco Bay – With GIFs
My Favorite Places to Backpack in the US
Why You Should Visit Arkansas: Mountains, Rivers, Public Diamond Mines & Great Food!
Sleepy Lizard
Sustainability and Climate
Renewable Energy Now Provides More Electricity Than Nuclear in the US
Using Algae for Wastewater Treatment and Biofuel Production
Why Climate Progress Will Continue in the USA.
Six Non-tree Things Paper Can be Made From (I promise these are interesting)
Drawdown - The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
Science, Volunteer Computing, and Gridcoin
Let Your Computer Dream About Science While You Sleep (& Earn Cryptocurrency For Doing So!)
Steemit Writers, Science Needs Your Help! Get the word out on how any computer or Android can boost research on cancer, astrophysics, clean energy & more!
The Best Volunteer Computing Screensavers – Crowdsourcing Project
Scientists of Steemit! Tell us about your research on #Science!
BOINC – Impressive Accomplishments and Incredible Potential