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Energy Department Head Recommends the U.S. Should Stay in ITER International Fusion Program
30 May 2016
EIRNS—On May 26, Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz released the study required by Congress, to advise on whether the U.S. should stay in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fusion program. Not surprisingly, ITER is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over the original budget, not uncharacteristic for such a large, complex, and international endeavor. For the second year in a row, the relevant Senate committee has zeroed out funding for the program, and requested the study. Due also to incredibly myopic Congressional action, the U.S. dropped out of ITER in the 1990s, and then rejoined in 2007. The recommendation from the Department of Energy is for the U.S. to continue to contribute to ITER, because it "remains the best candidate today to demonstrate sustained burning plasma, which is a necessary precursor to demonstrating fusion energy power," states the opening "Message from the Secretary." It proposes that U.S. ITER be funded for the next two years, and then there be an evaluation of whether needed "reforms" have been made, and if the project is on target. However, it states, the funding for ITER must be increased, if the U.S. is to fulfill its obligations. For FY17, now under discussion, the needed funding is $125 million, which has been the (inadequate) level of annual support up until now. This level would need to increase to $275 million in FY18 and stay in that range for about seven years, until the burning of first plasma, now planned for 2025. That funding level, which is such a bone of contention in the Congress, pales in comparison to the billions in federal subsidies being doled out for solar and wind projects. As the DOE head, which also funds other large-scale basic science projects, Moniz can only suggest that either the total funding for the Office of Science be increased, or the department will have to weigh the importance of ITER against the other science programs. Because fusion research as a whole has been grossly underfunded, the ITER allocation has been pitted against the domestic fusion programs, to where neither is supported adequately. Even though U.S. ITER is headquartered in Tennessee, his home state, this has not deterred Sen. Lamar Alexander from teaming up with Sen. Dianne Feinstein—the leadership of the Senate Appropriations Committee—to recommend zeroing out all |
