Solar Farm Built On Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant Site

Where nuclear energy failed, solar power has succeeded | United Renewable Energy

A 1MW solar power station has been constructed on the site of the Phipps Bend nuclear power facility in Tennessee, which was never completed.

Phipps Bend was to have two boiling water reactors with 1,269 MW capacity each. Construction commenced in late 1977 and was halted in 1982, abandoned due to a drop in energy demand, falling energy prices and changing sentiments among the American public towards nuclear power; particularly after the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station accident in 1979.

Phipps Bend Nuclear Power Plant In 2016 | Image: Cliffton.reed – CC BY-SA 4.0

3,000 sun-tracking solar panels are now in place on four acres adjacent to the plant, generating enough clean electricity to power one hundred homes while the remnants of the nuclear facility continue to crumble.

The Phipps Bend solar project developer/ owner is Birdseye Renewable Energy and construction of the plant was executed by United Renewable Energy.

” Due to its location, this project visibly demonstrates how clean, efficient solar energy matches other forms of power generation to meet our country’s growing energy needs,” said United Renewable Energy’s Keith Herbs.

The solar energy facility may not be particularly powerful compared to other PV projects in the USA, but it does make a powerful statement.

Close to a hundred nuclear power station projects have been cancelled over the years in the U.S., with construction having commenced on dozens before they were abandoned. Only four more new units are expected to come online by 2021.

Nuclear energy is coming under increasing pressure from renewables, but unlike in countries such as Switzerland and South Korea, it may not be on its last legs in the U.S. – yet.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently vowed to usher in a “golden era of American energy dominance”, stating:

“First, we will begin to revive and expand our nuclear energy sector, which produces clean, renewable and emissions-free energy. A complete review of U.S. nuclear energy policy will help us find new ways to revitalize this crucial energy resource,” he said.

President Trump’s incorrect application of the word “renewable” was the only mention of the term in his entire speech – absent were any references to wind energy or solar power.

According to the World Nuclear Association, the USA remains world’s largest producer of nuclear energy based electricity, accounting for more than 30% of worldwide generation.