Cheney: “shocked and appalled” in the proposed cuts for crucial funding for fusion energy science
BGen Stephen A. Cheney USMC (Ret.) , ASP’s CEO released the following statement regarding the cut in the Department of Energy’s Fusion Energy Sciences Budget
“We here at the American Security Project are shocked and appalled that the Administration’s budget for the Department of Energy cuts crucial funding for fusion energy sciences. Fusion energy will be a critical source of next generation energy that would provide secure, safe and sustainable energy for the U.S. I am particularly angered that these cuts would close MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, home to one of only 3 experimental magnetic fusion reactors (tokamaks) in the U.S. This decision is particularly short-sighted because it would cease operations at an institution that is training the graduate students who will lead the American effort on fusion in the future.
The cuts and changes in the Fusion Energy Sciences budget is emblematic a larger problem: a lack of long-term vision. Instead of investing in research and development for the long term, we seem to look for short-term fixes to our problems. ”
Background:
In the Department of Energy’s budget request, the Fusion Energy Sciences budget is slated to fall by 0.8% to $398 million. However, it increases the U.S. contribution to ITER to $150 million, up from $105 million in FY12. That shift forces drastic cuts in other areas, including MIT’s $18 million budget for its Plasma Science and Fusion Center. The C-Mod at MIT is a donut-shaped device known as a tokamak that uses magnetic fields to trap an ionized gas or plasma and hold it at very high temperature and pressure. C-Mod is one of three tokamaks in the United States.
Resources
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ASP hosts a program examining fusion energy as a next-generation source of energy.
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You can find about Fusion as an Opportunity for American Leadership and Security here.
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More about fusion and its benefits in a fact-sheet here.
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