In August of 2021 at Lawrence Livermore National Lab in California, a nuclear fusion milestone was achieved. Researchers at the lab’s National Ignition Facility created a yield of over 1.3 megajoules. It was the first time the researchers had achieved this yield. Three peer-reviewed papers were published about the fusion … [continued]
The European Union wants to classify nuclear and gas as “green energy.” That’s a lie twice told.
Fusion has an amazing future as a source of energy. In space craft beyond the orbit of Jupiter sometime in the next two centuries.
Seven years ago, CleanTechnica published its policy position to not cover thorium nuclear reactors. Today, the United States has a Democratic Presidential candidate in the top 10 who loves thorium, yet CleanTechnica still ignores it. Why is that?
The top 20 CleanTechnica stories of the week were led by a Tesla Model Y production plan an insider leaked to us, which is both super exciting and something to be cautious about. The second most popular piece was a story about Tesla Model 3 range after 50,000 miles of driving. The black swan story of the week that climbed its way into the top 3 was on the topic of fusion energy. (Proceed with caution if you plan to read about that news item.) For the rest of the top 20, skim down below and click the ones that tickle your interest.
Salvatore Pais, of the US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), claims to have invented a compact fusion reactor. With a size of between 0.3 and 2 meters (1 foot to 6.5 feet), the patent claims that the device could generate between a gigawatt and a terawatt, while needing far less energy input than it produces.
The International Uranium Film Festival brings awareness of the hazards of uranium extraction processes and nuclear power production to audiences around the world.
Years ago, I wrote that many people don’t realize solar energy and wind energy are so cheap because they have a price or talking point stuck in their head from 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or even just 3 years ago. As much as we at CleanTechnica repeat the fact that wind and solar are often the cheapest option for new electricity capacity, people in the general public and even in highly related fields don’t realize that renewable energy costs have fallen so much so fast. They don’t realize that cleaner electricity options are often the cheapest options.
Are wind and solar killing coal and nuclear? Yes, but not by themselves and not for the reasons most people think. Are wind and solar killing grid reliability? No, not where the grid’s technology and regulations have been modernized. In those places, overall grid operation has improved, not worsened.
Tokamak Energy in the UK powered up its ST40 nuclear fusion machine this week and was able to obtain what it calls “first plasma.” It hopes to get to 100 million degrees Celsius by next year.
