The Energy Collective Group
This group brings together the best thinkers on energy and climate. Join us for smart, insightful posts and conversations about where the energy industry is and where it is going.
Podcast / Audio
Fusion Power Breakthrough…Really?
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have announced a fusion breakthrough using lasers. The future of clean, limitless energy according to Forbes! A game-changer for climate according to PBS!
Using a laser and power plant system about the size of a sports stadium, the experiment generated a net power output of about one megajoule. This fusion power plant can blast the laser about 10 times a week. Sounds impressive.
Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but one megajoule is equivalent to 0.278 kwh — about the same amount of energy a single solar panel will generate in an hour from that fusion power plant 92 million miles away.
Press coverage somehow missed the fact that the energy output of this test is de minimis. They also missed the facts that fusion releases vast quantities of dangerous neutron radiation, that this radiation will contaminate surrounding equipment (just like fission reactors), that that we have not yet engineered a way to capture the heat from laser or tokamak fusion, and that there is no good source for all the tritium fuel necessary for fusion (other than more fusion reactors).
It takes at least 20 years to get a new nuclear fission plant permitted and constructed. At this point we don’t even have a working prototype laser fusion plant — that could take another 30 years. Realistically, we’re 50+ years away from getting commercial laser or tokamak fusion power plants working at scale. In the mean time, deploying billions of lowly solar panels is the safest, most reliable and least expensive way to generate the energy we need.
Please join us on this week’s Energy Show Podcast
More Posts
The Problem of Waste Plastic and Why Pyrolysis Might Just Contain the Answer
The Problem of Waste Plastic and Why Pyrolysis Oil Might Just Contain the Answer The world produces around 450m t/y of plastic, but only 9% is recycled, with most waste ending up in landfill. Pyrolysis, which involves heating the plastic at..
Advanced Energy Solutions need accelerating
The WEF sees the primary challenge in deploying advanced energy solutions over the next decade not in their technological feasibility but in confidence in these solutions.
India's Roadmap to Net Zero: Priorities and Challenges
India aims for net-zero emissions by 2070 amid economic growth. Prioritizing renewable energy, industries like cement and steel must decarbonize. Sustainable urban development is key, but policy clarity and reducing coal reliance are hurdles.
New Iron Age of Electricity Storage Is at Hand
Since electricity was first deployed, there has been a missing link: storage. The lead-acid battery was first developed in 1859 and has been refined to the effective, utilitarian box we have in cars today. Gone are the days when you sometimes..
Get Published - Build a Following
The Energy Central Power Industry Network® is based on one core idea - power industry professionals helping each other and advancing the industry by sharing and learning from each other.
If you have an experience or insight to share or have learned something from a conference or seminar, your peers and colleagues on Energy Central want to hear about it. It's also easy to share a link to an article you've liked or an industry resource that you think would be helpful.
Sign in to Participate