What will be the environmental impact of fusion energy?
The energy generated by the fusion reactions will be used for the same purposes as current sources of energy, such as generation of electricity, heat for industrial use or the production of hydrogen. The fuel consumption of a fusion power station will be extremely low. A 1 GW fusion plant will need about 100 Kg of deuterium and 3 tons of natural lithium to operate for a whole year, generating about 7 billion kWh, with no greenhouse gas or other polluting emissions. To generate the same energy, a coal-fired power plan (without carbon sequestration) requires about 1.5 million tons of fuel and produces about 4-5million tons of CO2. The neutrons generated by the fusion reaction cause radio-activity in the materials surrounding the reaction such as the walls of the container etc. A careful choice of the materials for these components will allow them to be released from regulatory control and possibly recycled about 100 years after the power plant stop operating. Waste from fusion plants wil
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