Another issue is that solar panels only last 5 to 10 years and they will need to be replaced and we do not have the infrastructure required to properly recycle them. There is going to be a large bill to foot when they start dropping like flies, though, to be fair nuclear has a much high upfront cost.
Another issue is that solar panels only last 5 to 10 years
This is completely false. There are solar-panels that are still in operation after 30 years easily.
These figures usually come from commercial operations where it is cheaper to replace them with new ones when they drop some percentage of efficiency. Basically 20 year old panels only have 80% of the original efficiency, so in some places where space is premium the new panels pay for themselves and thus is it economical to replace the old ones after 10 years or so.
Another issue is that solar panels only last 5 to 10 years and they will need to be replaced and we do not have the infrastructure required to properly recycle them. There is going to be a large bill to foot when they start dropping like flies, though, to be fair nuclear has a much high upfront cost.
This is completely false. There are solar-panels that are still in operation after 30 years easily.
These figures usually come from commercial operations where it is cheaper to replace them with new ones when they drop some percentage of efficiency. Basically 20 year old panels only have 80% of the original efficiency, so in some places where space is premium the new panels pay for themselves and thus is it economical to replace the old ones after 10 years or so.
We also don’t have infrastructure to properly deal with spent fuel rods