Ohio's solar PV panel production could displace Davis-Besse reactor's electrical output

Environmental coalition expert witness Al Compaan and a solar PV panelIn an article entitled "Ohio ranked 2nd in U.S. in solar-panel output," the Toledo Blade has reported that by next year, Ohio manufacturers will be churning out 550 Megawatts-electric (MW-e) of solar photovoltaic panels. Beyond Nuclear, along with Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, Don't Waste Michigan, and the Green Party of Ohio, have challenged the 20 year license extension sought by the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant, contending that solar PV alone could displace the atomic reactor's electrical output of 908 MW by 2017, the year its original 40 year operating license expires. Emeritus professor of physics at the University of Toledo Al Compaan (pictured at left) -- the environmental coalition's expert witness in the proceeding -- testified earlier this year to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Atomic Safety (sic) and Licensing Board (ASLB) that simply covering FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse site, its Norton Compressed Air Energy Storage site, as well as the commercial rooftops in several northern Ohio cities, would be enough solar PV panels to entirely replace Davis-Besse. As the article indicates, Ohio's own production levels alone could readily meet that challenge.