United Kingdom government's chief scientific adviser, David King, assured us last week at a renewable-energy conference that we'll have safe power generation from (hot) fusion within 25 years (about time after half a century and many billions spent...but wait!). Mr. King said the technology has advanced significantly, and one project has already succeeded, on paper, in extracting energy. The JT-60 project (in Japan) has shown the possibility of extracting more energy from the reaction that is used to fuel it.
The next phase includes the ITER project, a collaboration between Canada, Europe, Japan and Russia, to build the first experimental fusion device to produce thermal energy at the level of an electrical power station. Of course, Mr. King said he expects to see around $4.5 billion put into this fast-track research over the next 10 years (fast track205billions205sounds familiar?). And surprise, the US Congress will be considering putting money into this research soon (see below). I hope Tom Bearden (and many other in the cold fusion and ZPE research) will not read this because with his heart condition205
In Detroit, last week, during a luncheon policy address at the two-day G-8 energy summit, the U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said that the world's energy challenges will become more acute over the
next 20 years as countries face increased demand and try to balance energy growth with environmental protection.
In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that by 2020, oil consumption will increase by 33 percent, natural gas consumption by more than 50% and electricity demand by 45 percent, said Abraham. The infrastructure to handle the increased use doesn't exist, he also said. He gave the example that, more than one power plant per week will have to be built to accommodate the projected increase in electricity demand.
He spoke several times about how the effect of new technologies and increased energy use must be weighed against environmental concerns. During a news conference, he announced that his department will host an International Conference on the Future of Energy Transportation Technologies (such as the development of hydrogen as a primary fuel for vehicles), in Detroit this fall.
Unfortunately he's also talking about "finding new and diversified sources of oil and natural gas" and American participation in ITER, an international group whose aim is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy (hot, I presume) for peaceful purposes. Has anybody told them about Dr. Frank E. Gordon, Head of the Navigation and Applied Sciences Department, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego and his report on cold fusion?
