Can the economic cost of fusions environmental impact be estimated, including the costs of constructing and dismantling the power plant?
Yes, estimates are made using the method developed by the EU s ExternE project. This considers the total environmental impact of power production, from the original extraction of materials, through to the operation and subsequent recycling/dismantling of the facility. This is done by associating a cost to everything from CO2 emissions to accidents at work. The conclusions in published work have been very favourable, with fusion estimated to be considerably less harmful than conventional oil, coal, and gas.
