Letters to the Editor

Solar’s future

I was surprised to see that the May 21 article “Turkey Point expansion still faces a murky future,” did not mention the increasingly competitive solar power industry.

New solar power farms can produce electricity at about $1 to $2 per watt of installed capacity. That’s literally one tenth the price of FPL’s proposed nuclear plants, and if FPL’s plant can be built at the projected cost; a very doubtful proposition.

Solar also has none of the waste-water problems, no spent fuel disposal problems, no radioactive leak risks. Of course, critics will say that solar only works when the sun shines, but there are many new solutions being developed for energy storage, such as molten salt, and water and air pump-and-release. And, unlike nuclear power, solar power costs are falling, not rising.

The Butler solar farm in southern Georgia produces 103 MW with no environmental risks, and was built for far less than the permit application fees that FPL has spent.

Rodney King, Miami

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