Great. The fusion hype is bad enough already. Now its resurgence is going to interrupt the series of posts I’m in the middle of publishing in order for this post to be “timely.”
The first (and much bigger) round of breathless excitement came in December 2022 when the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) announced a (legitimate) breakthrough in achieving fusion: more energy came out of the target than laser energy injected.
"Even if the unlikely rollout of SMRs eventually happens, it will unfold too late to curb the climate crisis. . . . . . Meanwhile, the siren song of nuclear energy is diverting critical resources from the urgent task of building out clean technologies."
Might need to triple amount generated to meet net zero emissions target of 2050
OTTAWA — Canada must build more electricity generation in the next 25 years than it has over the last century in order to support a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, according to a new report from the Public Policy Forum.
Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and shifting to emissions-free electricity to propel our cars, heat our homes and run our factories will require doubling, or possibly tripling, the amount of power we make now, the federal government estimates.
