A Multiuser Development Scenario for ICF

Abstract

Concern has been expressed in recent years that the development of fusion power may require a series of facilities that are so expensive as to be unaffordable even if the end design of a power station appears to be attractive. Of course, the perception of what is affordable depends a great deal on the national urgency attached to the program at any given time. Just a few years ago, after a decade of fuel shortages, gas lines, and the energy “crisis”, Congress passed a bill that seemingly guaranteed virtually unlimited funds for an accelerated magnetic fusion development program. In the few years since, the support for such an approach has disappeared and now the program is even considering abandoning the technological approach all agree has the best chance of producing a burning plasma soonest, in favor of riskier approaches that may have less expensive development steps. In view of the fact that the perception of what is affordable can change so quickly, some advocate waiting until the climate changes back, confident in their expectation that the present glut of energy will fade and that the national resolve will return to development of fusion power. This may happen, of course, but it would seem somewhat foolish to plan on it. When the glut fades, as it surely will, many factors will determine the national response to it. Energy conservation technology is now a dynamic force in many sectors of our economy.

Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. W-7405-ENG-38.