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Here is a good summary of the stats from various sources. Death rate per terawatt/hr is 0.04 for Nuclear and 0.44 for Rooftop Solar. Basically Rooftop solar i

Here is a good summary of the stats from various sources. Death rate per terawatt/hr is 0.04 for Nuclear and 0.44 for Rooftop Solar. Basically Rooftop solar is a full order of magnitude more dangerous. Coal is WAY more nasty at a world average of around 100 deaths per terawatt/hr if you consider heating/cooking/electricity or 60 for just electricity. Those numbers for China are 170 & 90 respectively. If you include the worst hydro accident, Hydro is 1.4 deaths per terawatt/hr, or 0.10 if that is excluded. Nuclear is the best game in town, even though the accidents are well publicized and the marketing for alternatives have done a really good job of making us scared of the nasty radioactivity, nuclear has the best safety culture and safety record. http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/deaths-per-twh-by-energy-source.html http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/deaths-per-twh-by-energy-so...

pgeorgi 11y ago
Rooftop solar. Not sure that the problem is the photovoltaics and not the rooftops. Even crowded Germany manages to set up fields full of solar panels, so I guess the US can do just as well. Leave rooftop solar installation to those who build new homes or repair the roof, so there's no additional risk from climbing around in high places.
- vidarh 11y ago
  Here [1] is Osha's page on solar safety issues. Here [2] (pdf) is a manual going over solar installation safety issues. You'll note they go well beyond falls, though you have a point that the page in question mentions roof installations. But also keep in mind that solar also causes mining deaths (sand quarries are not without accidents just because they're not deep mines; but of course nuclear has related mining accidents too) as well as work with hazardous chemicals during production of the cells. There are also related fire risks. Not huge, but they are there, and given sufficiently deployed capacity it adds up. Also keep in mind that solar is not nearly all photovoltaics. Here's an article about a lethal accident at a concentrating solar power plant in South Africa [3], though generally we will likely see fewer deaths per kwh for large plants. But even fields full of solar panels involves plenty of construction work and electrical work that can kill. Basically, anything labour intensive, no matter what, will have a death toll. Even hiring a bunch of people to sit around and do nothing all day will have a death toll from accidents one way or another. As such, all else being equal (and of course they never are), the least labour intensive alternative will win out. Similarly, all else beiny equal, the larger / more electrical installations you add the more fires etc. you will have. Since all things are not equal, it gets complicated, but it doesn't help to pretend that these alternatives does not have risks. > Leave rooftop solar installation to those who build new homes or repair the roof, so there's no additional risk from climbing around in high places. They're not immune to death just because they have experience, and there will always be additional risk because it means more time is spent climbing around in high places. There's been plenty of professional installers and construction workers falling to their deaths too. The pages I referenced are targeted at professionals, for a reason. [1] https://www.osha.gov/dep/greenjobs/solar.html https://www.osha.gov/dep/greenjobs/solar.html [2] http://www.coshnetwork.org/sites/default/files/OSEIA_Solar_Safety_12-06.pdf http://www.coshnetwork.org/sites/default/files/OSEIA_Solar_S... [3] http://www.csp-world.com/news/20141104/001395/two-killed-and-7-injured-accident-abengoas-csp-plant-under-construction-south http://www.csp-world.com/news/20141104/001395/two-killed-and...

pgeorgi 11y ago

Rooftop solar. Not sure that the problem is the photovoltaics and not the rooftops. Even crowded Germany manages to set up fields full of solar panels, so I guess the US can do just as well. Leave rooftop solar installation to those who build new homes or repair the roof, so there's no additional risk from climbing around in high places.

vidarh 11y ago
Here [1] is Osha's page on solar safety issues. Here [2] (pdf) is a manual going over solar installation safety issues. You'll note they go well beyond falls, though you have a point that the page in question mentions roof installations. But also keep in mind that solar also causes mining deaths (sand quarries are not without accidents just because they're not deep mines; but of course nuclear has related mining accidents too) as well as work with hazardous chemicals during production of the cells. There are also related fire risks. Not huge, but they are there, and given sufficiently deployed capacity it adds up. Also keep in mind that solar is not nearly all photovoltaics. Here's an article about a lethal accident at a concentrating solar power plant in South Africa [3], though generally we will likely see fewer deaths per kwh for large plants. But even fields full of solar panels involves plenty of construction work and electrical work that can kill. Basically, anything labour intensive, no matter what, will have a death toll. Even hiring a bunch of people to sit around and do nothing all day will have a death toll from accidents one way or another. As such, all else being equal (and of course they never are), the least labour intensive alternative will win out. Similarly, all else beiny equal, the larger / more electrical installations you add the more fires etc. you will have. Since all things are not equal, it gets complicated, but it doesn't help to pretend that these alternatives does not have risks. > Leave rooftop solar installation to those who build new homes or repair the roof, so there's no additional risk from climbing around in high places. They're not immune to death just because they have experience, and there will always be additional risk because it means more time is spent climbing around in high places. There's been plenty of professional installers and construction workers falling to their deaths too. The pages I referenced are targeted at professionals, for a reason. [1] https://www.osha.gov/dep/greenjobs/solar.html https://www.osha.gov/dep/greenjobs/solar.html [2] http://www.coshnetwork.org/sites/default/files/OSEIA_Solar_Safety_12-06.pdf http://www.coshnetwork.org/sites/default/files/OSEIA_Solar_S... [3] http://www.csp-world.com/news/20141104/001395/two-killed-and-7-injured-accident-abengoas-csp-plant-under-construction-south http://www.csp-world.com/news/20141104/001395/two-killed-and...