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Power Plant Designs

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Magnetic Fusion Technology

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Energy ((LNEN,volume 19))

Abstract

The electrical power companies have specified what features are desired for attractive power plants, with regard to economics, regulatory simplicity, and public acceptance. The plants should achieve high availability, and should have maintenance procedures that can be performed in a few months, which is very difficult for large fusion reactors. A company must borrow money to build a power plant long before it starts earning revenue, so short construction times are important, and the total capital cost is often about twice as high as the direct capital cost. Large fusion power plants (3 GWe vs. 1 GWe) have an economy of scale that reduces the cost of electricity by about 20–30 %, but grid perturbation during shutdown would be a problem. Fusion power plant design studies in Europe, Japan, China, and the USA have estimated the cost of fusion-power electricity to be higher than from fission power and fossil fuels, but fusion could become competitive under several possible scenarios.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This article lists two EPRI reports with additional information:

    1. 1.

      Report of the 1992 Fusion Panel, TR-101649, November 1992. (Expert panel's key criteria for comparing alternative fusion technologies).

    2. 2.

      Utility Requirements for Fusion, AP-2254, February 1982. (Broad-based industry derivation of fusion power plant characteristics judged most important to electric utilities).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NPRE Department, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Thomas J. Dolan

  2. Fusion Consultant, O Fallon, MO, USA

    Lester M. Waganer

  3. Idaho National Laboratory Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, Idaho Falls, ID, USA

    Lee C. Cadwallader

Authors
  1. Thomas J. Dolan
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  2. Lester M. Waganer
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  3. Lee C. Cadwallader
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Correspondence to Thomas J. Dolan .

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  1. NPRE Department, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA

    Thomas J. Dolan

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Dolan, T.J., Waganer, L.M., Cadwallader, L.C. (2013). Power Plant Designs. In: Dolan, T. (eds) Magnetic Fusion Technology. Lecture Notes in Energy, vol 19. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5556-0_13

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