[littlestymaar]

> Currently the alternative to solar and wind, is coal and gas.

No, and this vision is the problem. Hydro, geothermal, nuclear, are other options that can make sense depending on the context (of course you don't want to start a nuclear program from scratch, but if you already have a nuclear industry and you're in northern Europe, then it makes much more sense than solar).

[kemotep]

I understand. Here in the US 70% of my electricity comes from coal and gas. My county literally passed a law banning solar projects a few years ago because of fear mongering about renewables. The alternative to solar is the status quo of coal and gas. To build out nuclear energy, you would not only have to take decades to build up the infrastructure and capacity but also convince locals that nuclear energy is a viable alternative when enough people were able to convince the local government that large scale solar projects are harmful to environment.

[littlestymaar]

> I understand. Here in the US 70% of my electricity comes from coal and gas. My county literally passed a law banning solar projects a few years ago because of fear mongering about renewables. The alternative to solar is the status quo of coal and gas.

But sometimes solar is not the alternative to the status quo, that's what I meant. By in many places of the US, solar is actually a viable choice though, and banning it there is as stupid as subsidizing it near the polar circle (something we actually do in Europe…).

> but also convince locals that nuclear energy is a viable alternative when enough people were able to convince the local government that large scale solar projects are harmful to environment.

In Europe the biggest, and by far, source of opposition to nuclear comes from renewable energy proponents, even in countries where it doesn't make sense (especially solar). That's how we got Germany to get rid of their perfectly functional nuclear plants, spending tons of money investing in inferior solutions (for the context), and consuming millions of tons of coal in the meantime. Similarly idiotic to your county banning solar…