Historically nuclear power is the least fatal of all viable power sources. The small amount of nuclear disasters are nothing in comparison to the disasters associated with hydroelectric power and coal. The United States with respects to infrastructure is far from similar to European nations. For example, the state of Texas far exceeds the square mileage of several European nations combined; thus, power sources such as solar and wind energy have very limited distribution potential as they are environmentally local power structures. On the other hand, nuclear plants can be constructed seemingly anywhere. There are some exiting new developments in the field of nuclear fusion for power though, but they have little industry viability at the moment. In addition, solar panels themselves require extensive maintenance; they bake in the sun all day, everyday. The issue of hazardous nuclear waste can be minimized using techniques that use the waste products to generate power as well.