Paul Miller makes a strong case for a deeper consideration of advanced nuclear [power] in Plymouth, and more generally, in Massachusetts (“We should at least consider a small reactor at Pilgrim site,” Aug.19). To continue his argument, he could note that land use constraints in New England may limit how much solar we can deploy.
I’m a big fan of solar, delighted with the 5-kW system on my roof since 2020. There is tremendous potential for solar in Massachusetts and New England yet to be realized.
However, the energy density of solar in New England is about 200 GWh per square mile per year, assuming a 16 percent capacity factor. By my calculations, it would require roughly eight square miles of solar panels to generate the equivalent of a small 200 MW nuclear plant (with a 90 percent capacity factor).
If that doesn’t sound like a lot of panels, consider that the current largest solar farm in Massachusetts (in Spencer) is 200 acres (less than a third of a square mile), meaning we’d need about 25 such solar farms to match the output of one small reactor.
– Frederick Hewett