Fusion Power on the way - at last ?

Let me know when it generates more power than it consumes ...

But I'm not knocking it, I'm just stating the metric for when I will consider it a success.

Your opinion, which seems a tad bit hypocritical vis-a-vis your position on cold fusion ...And not supported by facts. A recent article inhttps://solarthermalmagazine.com/showed that homes that invested in solar systems had higher resale value and recouped more than the installation cost.Relatively small investment with long-term gain.Enjoy.

This assumes that PV solar is used in large installations like coal and other generator plants, with a grid to distribute the energy to the users on large trunk lines over dedicated land -- old school thinking.Instead, consider the unused real estate in town and along highways and train ways and all those existing transmission lines. PV solar can be integrated into other construction and provide energy in a distributed web that reduces the need and waste of high power lines. Coal cannot do this -- your comparison is fatally flawed. Example: an electric train in Germany that runs on power generated by solar panels along the train route -- no extra land needed no extra power needed.Wind too can be put up on existing infrastructure and integrated in a web of power generations: instead of linear distribution systems with alternate lines for a modicum of failsafe (but not enough to prevent blackouts and brownouts) the web energy flows from many sources to where it is used. Neighborhoods can stand alone, streetlights can collect power during the day and use it at night -- no more blackouts. The quality of service would be better. And those plants would have less appeal for those living nearby than the existing coal plants, which - frankly - are hideous. Safety requirements on top of public aversion would mean they would have to be built a great distance away from living centers, require large transmission lines and distribution centers. Blackouts would still occur as those lines fail. You talk about fusion as a nascent industry and complain that it needs to be given a break, and then compare the current state of development of wind and solar generation to a mature industry that is fully developed. This is hypocritical. Considering the advances in the last 5 years and the knowledge that we have not yet begun to reach optimum development means that such comparisons are apples and oranges, based more on biases than reality.Curiously I'd rather look at this:spinning slowly next door, than a coal plant or a fusion generating plant a mile away fenced off for safety etc.Progress isn't just about making power, but integrating our systems to be places to live.Enjoy.Edited by RAZD, : ...Edited by RAZD, : .

http://thinkprogress.org/...umper-month-for-wind-in-scotland

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According to new numbers published by WWF Scotland this week, wind turbines generated enough electricity in October to power 3,045,000 homes in the U.K. more than enough for all the homes in Scotland.

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Wind energy has been thriving in the U.K. in recent months. In August the U.K set a new record for wind power generation, with wind accounting for seventeen percent of national demand. This came around the time that EDF Energy announced it was temporarily shutting down four of its U.K. reactors, or around a quarter of its total nuclear generating capacity, due to longevity issues. The four EDF reactors under investigation were commissioned in 1983 and are officially scheduled to be taken out of service in 2019.

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Seems they don't have your problem ...There is more than enough wind and sun to power the world, it is available with existing technology and the innovations are still occurring at an incredible rate. Costs keep dropping, efficiency keeps improving.Enjoy.Edited by RAZD, : ...

With fusion generation you will still be stuck with these: The local coal plant just built two towers like this, and property values in sight of the towers dropped. And growing. Germany is doing even better, and they have NO plans for nuclear generation. Same can be said for coal\gas but that didn't hold them back. Transmission lines are an existing facet that can be adapted to form a web between production and consumption. Show me a place on the earth that does not get any sun or wind. One balances the other.Imagine one of these: with PV panels on the blades ...The technology is booming in these fields, it is available NOW.Enjoy.

And here's one where solar pv does work:Update Your Browser | Facebook

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Energy needs at the school's ball fields will be completely supported by solar energy, while the high school will mainly be solar.

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Solar power to reduce Iowa district's energy costs

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WAYLAND, Iowa (AP) A southeast Iowa school district is nearing completion of an $800,000 solar power system that will drastically reduce its energy costs....

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Our town is investigating doing this on all town buildings.Enjoy

Really? 350 org Facebook page

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The coal industry has been trying to tell us that the only way to power the world is with coal, but try telling that to the people of Tokelau in the Pacific. They didn’t need coal for energy, instead they built this solar array which provides 150% of their electricity needs.

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Research released today found that coal companies are all talk and no action when it comes to energy poverty and that renewable energy is leading the way in poverty alleviation All talk, no action: Coal industry's hypocrisy on energy poverty | RenewEconomy

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Looks like facts are against you again.Enjoy

Can I put coal in my car?You can put batteries in your car and you can put fuel cells in your car (that run off hydogen made by electrolysis) -- amazingly the number of electric cars is booming in response to the demand.You can also get an electric scooter.And most likely you can easily walk or bicycle to places that are close to home (especially if you chose your home wisely). Our buses have bike racks so you can take your bike into the big city or other towns and bike there -- a multi-modal integrated transportation system. The new buses are electric.EnjoyEdited by RAZD, : ...

It means they can meet future needs and didn't waste money on installing more than was necessary\prudent.Funny how you keep running away from the obvious: ALL their electrical needs are met with solar, Jon, ALL.And it was cheaper than other solutions. Which is a reason why coal power companies are bad -- they don't want\care to provide electrical power, they want to make money, lots of money. And when people can get a cheaper solution by going somewhere else then there is absolutely no reason that they shouldn't do that.It's what choice is about. For too long there has not been much of a choice in getting electricity, the "utilities" were basically monopolies that were pretty much free to set what rates they wanted.Solar and wind break that stranglehold.Enjoy

Of course the choices of how to use fission depends on two factors ...(1) on how much a company can externalize costs, such as the disposal of waste material (this applies to all companies not just nuclear, it is just more of a problem with nuclear because of it being radioactive), and(2) if government wants to use byproducts for other things like bombs. The whole issue with Iran is the potential for making atomic bombs.Many people think that the US systems -- particularly the plants used by the military -- have secondary use as bomb material as a design feature. (cue conspiracy music).People will also be concerned that fusion can also be used to make bombs (the human race seems rather fascinated by their ability to make and use weapons of mass destruction instead of peaceful purposes ...EnjoyEnjoy.

It seems to me that you are the one claiming "massive energy requirements" without any definition of what those requirements are.If we look at household needs, the typical house has lights, tv, computer, stove, dishwasher, refrigerator, AC and heat requirements. All of these systems can be powered by local 24vdc systems, and we know this because we can design mobile homes and yachts with such systems. The only question then becomes how you generate the 24vdc power. Obviously batteries can be -- and have been -- used to power these, normally charged by a generator.Thus all you need to do is take the generator output and convert that to solar panel and wind turbine output. This has been done. Google off-grid housing.Curiously I have a friend who lives on a sailboat and is totally self-sufficient via wind and solar generation. Where they are bad is for the same reasons -- they hold people hostage for services considered necessary for minimal quality of life. When you consider the total cost of fossil fuels, not just the corporation costs, but the externalized costs to the environment and cleanup of waste and spills, including global warming, their cost is significantly higher.For instance there are two main ways to produce paper, one is cheaper than the other when you can dump waste into a river without cleaning it, but the other is cheaper when you have to clean the waste before dumping effluent into rivers. The US is littered with the former plants and has very few of the latter (if any). Same with coal ash and other waste by-products of the fossil fuel industry. You can choose to live in their shadow and breath their exhaust, or you can choose to go your own way.Enjoy.