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April 04, 2005
Nuclear fusion - and fission
Nuclear energy from fusion (rather than fission) could eventually be the answer to our need for clean, waste-free energy. This was the message delivered by David King, the government’s chief scientific adviser, at the Edinburgh International Science Festival. He wants more investment to make nuclear fusion a reality.
We need energy sources that are inherently carbon-free. In the longer term I believe that fusion power stations are a reality. It is just a question of what timescale we are talking about. We need to be investing today in the development of fusion power so we have that additional power supply to come.
Significantly, he also pointed out that modern fission reactors remain an option in the fight against climate change.
We are part of the international community that is working on developing new, safer, more efficient fission power stations so that governments have that option. They also produce much less radioactive waste per unit of energy produced. So, if we were to replace all of our existing power stations in the UK with today’s technology of nuclear power stations and ran them for about 50 or 60 years we would add a total of 10 per cent to our radioactive waste stockpile.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=348962005
Posted by Simon Holledge at April 4, 2005 02:19 PM
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