Fusion Power: A Case for Energy Leadership, Security and Independence in America
American Security Project publishes a report on fusion as an energy source for the future
WASHINGTON D.C., 27 January 2011 – Today the American Security Project released a new white paper titled “Fusion Energy: An Opportunity for American Leadership and Security,” which explains the potential significant gains of American investment in fusion energy.
Dr. Jim Ludes, Executive Director of the American Security Project (ASP), said:
“Fusion power is real. It’s happening now in labs around the world. The question is: who will lead the world in overcoming the last technical hurdles to commercial power production? It’s going to happen. The question is whether or not the United States leads or—once again, depends on others for our energy. Moreover, electricity from fusion will be safe and clean. It offers hope for an ideal energy source, both in terms of our security and our environment. Once it becomes an exportable technology, fusion will allow quick access to low cost, carbon-free and nuclear proliferation-free energy to all nations. It’s time it for America to take leadership and further invest in the technology.”
Ludes added:
“As the President recently stated in the State of the Union address, America needs to invest more in the future, if we are to win that future. Fusion can be America’s future energy. Right now, other countries aren’t waiting. As the 2007 Fusion Energy Science Advisory Committee (FESAC) report stated, ‘at some point delay is equivalent to failure.’”
Fusion is energy released by forcing atomic nuclei together—the same process that powers the sun. The primary fuel for fusion is derived from ordinary water. To achieve the fusion power described in the ASP report, the United States would need to invest approximately $35 billion over a period of about 15 years. This investment is less than the one-third of the cost of the Apollo program that put a man on the moon, which was also a program that involved six percent of all the scientists and engineers in the country. The strategic gains for the development of fusion energy are vast and will constitute a reaffirmation of American technological leadership in the world.
Ludes went on to say:
“If America wants to be competitive, it needs to decide whether it wants be creators and exporters in fusion, or be the followers and customers. The fact is, the EU, South Korea, Japan and China are investing in fusion and making it a reality. We have a clear choice now before us as a nation—leadership, or second-rate status. We should establish a priority for fusion technology at the national level and invest in it to help achieve America’s energy independence.”
Read the full report here.
Download the press release here.
#END#
About the American Security Project: The American Security Project is a non-profit, bipartisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges. For more information, visit www.americansecurityproject.org.
