nuclear-news

Nuclear fusion dream becoming a financial nightmare

the cost of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project is out of control

Costly nuclear fusion demo worries cash-strapped EU, NewsDaily:, By Pete Harrison BRUSSELS, June 9, 2010 (Reuters) — A funding battle is brewing in Europe over a 16-billion-euro ($21.5 billion) experiment to crack the puzzle of commercializing nuclear fusion — the process that powers the sun.

The European Union’s executive arm is trying to coordinate an extra contribution of 1.4 billion euros in 2012-2013 from EU member countries, whose finances have been crippled by the economic crisis.

Many environmentalists say the cost of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project is out of control and money would be better spent on low-carbon projects such as home insulation which also create millions of jobs…..

At the center of the issue are dreams of harnessing nuclear fusion, which releases vast amounts of energy in the core of a star, under huge gravitational forces and temperatures of around 10 million degrees Celsius.

Scientists have shown the process can be recreated on Earth, combining simple hydrogen isotopes to release vast amounts of energy, but so far it has not been demonstrated on an industrial scale. Nor have previous experiments released more energy than they consume.

In 2006, more than 30 countries signed a deal to build the ITER nuclear fusion reactor, under construction in Cadarache, southern France.

At its core will be a 500-cubic-meter doughnut-shaped steel vessel in which a superheated stream of plasma circulates in a vacuum, held in place by superconducting magnets………..

It is irresponsible to invest huge amounts in a dead-end technology without creating jobs in this period of financial crisis,” said Green group politician Claude Turmes…..”Instead of a huge investment with exploding costs and without any added value, we Greens think we should use techniques that are available and reliable now like renewables and energy efficiency,” Turmes said………

ITER’s international council, which also includes Japan, India, China, Russia, South Korea and the United States, will meet on June 16 to discuss the scope, schedule and costs of the project. But the meeting is unlikely to reach concrete decisions until the EU has solved its financing issues…..

(Editing by Janet Lawrence)NewsDaily: Costly nuclear fusion demo worries cash-strapped EU

June 10, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, technology | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin