Let’s Review Science
To the editor — Solar panels are silicon wafers glued to glass. Wafers are pure micro-thin silicon (not glass) with remarkably energy intensive manufacture-chemistry. Many silicon wafers are made by slaves in China, where they are building an 1,100-megawatt coal-fired plant weekly for energy.
As for any solar farm: Each average at best, six hours per day electricity with nothing at night or a snowstorm, and practically nothing during fog or rain or when it’s cloudy. The baseload must be maintained by alternative generation to keep our grid functional.
A solar farm, with all its semi-permanent ground damage, yearly reduces output 0.5% to 3% because the wafers and the solar panels are subject to weather, UV and general wear and tear, potentially dead in 25 years.
There are multiple emerging modular nuclear systems. Each 24/7/365 baseload-energy sufficient for Yakima County. Some sodium cooled, using minimal water with 40-year life expectancy. They require a technical and professional workforce, blessing the local economy with solid permanent employment.
The nuclear power waste is extreme biohazard and must be properly stored and permanently monitored (processed on a few acres); compared to square miles lost to equivalent-power (effectively unreliable) solar farms.
WALT WEGENER
Toppenish
