Today it was reported that the US Department of Energy’s nuclear fusion laboratory has made what it calls a “major scientific breakthrough” in the area of power generation.
If the reports are true, these scientists in America appear to have cracked the holy grail of energy that physicists have chased for decades – namely, nuclear fusion. According to media reports, researchers have managed to get more energy out of a fusion process than was put in, which represents a huge milestone for the technology.
While the world has utilised nuclear power for many decades, this was always nuclear fission – not fusion.
Without getting into technical jargon and complicated specifics, in a nutshell, nuclear fission is when the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller parts, which releases energy.
While this process can produce large amounts of power and produces no carbon emissions (if you worry about that sort of thing), it has many obvious downsides – not least of which being it can be dangerous. While fission reactors are generally safe when managed correctly, nuclear disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima highlight the potential risks of this energy source when things go wrong – not to mention the toxic radioactive waste the process leaves behind.
It also relies on finite fuel elements such as uranium, which can be hard to come by.
For all of these reasons and more, many countries like Ireland have turned their noses up at nuclear fission, despite its low carbon footprint.
All of this brings us to fission’s superior big brother, however: nuclear fusion.
Like fission, fusion releases no carbon emissions or greenhouse gases, with a few key differences.
This process produces no radioactive waste, and carries no risk of a large-scale nuclear accident. A fusion reactor cannot melt down, and produces huge quantities of energy.
What’s more, the fuel used in the fusion process is not rare at all. Deuterium, or “heavy water,” can be extracted from water as the name implies, and tritium can be extracted from lithium, which is an element abundant in the ocean and the earth’s crust. We have enough resources to power a planet of fusion reactors for thousands of years.
What all of this means is fusion is safer, more accessible and more efficient than fission, and eliminates most of the objections that one would have to the latter.
This is extremely noteworthy for Ireland in particular, as it’s clear that the government’s carbon net zero agenda has caused havoc for the Irish energy grid.
ESB confirms it will demolish its two ‘pristine’ power plants in the Midlands #gripthttps://t.co/zJdQMgUDVO
— gript (@griptmedia) June 23, 2021
By shutting down perfectly viable fossil fuel power stations in exchange for unreliable renewables, the national power supply has been brought to the brink, with the country facing years of rolling blackouts.
“The country at the very end of the European network has no gas storage.”
Reports suggest Ireland will have to reduce electricity demand or face blackouts this winter. https://t.co/edTdTcOR2J
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) August 8, 2022
It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out that solar power in a country where the sun never shines is never going to be a sustainable solution – nor is wind power, in the event that the wind doesn’t blow.
Eamon Ryan: By 2025, Ireland will generate enough solar electricity to power the country https://t.co/VNBDsCGfwB
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) November 26, 2022
While the Green Party has previously objected to nuclear power, and ruled out the process as unsuitable for Ireland, it seems logical that if one’s goal is to keep carbon emissions down while meeting our electricity needs, nuclear fusion is the way to go.
Eamon Ryan rules out nuclear power as option in transition from fossil fuel dependence https://t.co/S6BWEnjz33
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) May 23, 2022
I actually emailed the Green Party press office to ask if they would support nuclear fusion for Ireland in the event that the power source became tangible. As of the writing of this article, I didn’t receive a response.
One thing is clear: windmills are not going to power a modern 21st century developed country. If this fusion technology or something similar ever becomes a reality, it is the only realistic solution to the government’s carbon conundrum, and they should be promoting it with all their might. Anything else is just spoofing.