Never can answer the nuclear waste issue though. Wouldnt have a problem putting a nuclear plant at the Hetch Hetchy to cool these monstrosities though, right?
Hetch Hetchy is a gorgeous miraculous place that Muir saved. He also saved the Grand Canyon from development. But there are all kinds of lands and waters that were not saved from mining and other infrastructure projects. So your argument using the Trojan Horse of Muir before nuclear energy was invented, is a Stretch Stretchy.
Solar rooftops do not disrupt the wilderness. And using John Muir as an example is a bit much given how much of our natural world, including the rivers to build behemoth concrete nuclear plants, that Muir would most likely also oppose. Or the delicate desert ecosystems to store their waste.
Every energy tech has pros and consall have an impact, especially trying to satisfy the needs of a growing 8.3 BILLION population.
Im still waiting for that Chernobyl- like fallout from rooftop solar panels to where the land the size of Rhode Island will not be habitable for thousands of years.