Re:Nuclear fusion on brink of being realised, say MIT scient...
by tim333 on Sunday March 11, 2018 @09:44PM
(#16565698)
I figure they could probably build a reactor that produces power - the MIT design looks like it would work if built. Making it profitable without government subsidy is a whole different thing though which I doubt will happen in 15 years.
If I were a politician I'd vote for subsidising the thing by say buying the electricity at 30c/kWh to advance human understanding, so I think it could be built. I think MIT estimated $5bn + to build a 200MW generator which is not a huge amount in government terms.
There are a lot of problems to deal with eg see "Fusion reactors: Not what they’re cracked up to be" https://thebulletin.org/fusion-reactors-not-what-they%E2%80%... There's also a Reddit discussion of that saying the problems aren't quite so bad https://www.reddit.com/r/fusion/comments/67rqqg/fusion_react...
If I were a politician I'd vote for subsidising the thing by say buying the electricity at 30c/kWh to advance human understanding, so I think it could be built. I think MIT estimated $5bn + to build a 200MW generator which is not a huge amount in government terms.