Ronald C. Davidson, Pioneer of Fusion Power, Dies at 74

Ronald C. Davidson, Pioneer of Fusion Power, Dies at 74

NYT May 30, 2016 Ronald C. Davidson at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where he oversaw research. Credit Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Ronald C. Davidson, who oversaw one of the biggest advances in fusion energy research, attempting to replicate the power of the sun, died on May 19 at his home in Cranbury, N.J. He … Read more

The Real Problem With Fusion Energy

The Real Problem With Fusion Energy

gizmodo Maddie Stone | May 27, 2016 Artwork by Sam Woolley The longstanding joke about fusion—that it’s the energy source of the future, and always will be—may be the field’s biggest problem. The quest to bottle the power of the sun has led to countless starry-eyed predictions of an imminent clean energy revolution. But the … Read more

Secretary of Energy Moniz urges work on ITER nuclear fusion reactor

Secretary of Energy Moniz urges work on ITER nuclear fusion reactor

Electric Light & Power 05/27/2016 Dr. Jeff Quintenz, Senior Vice President of General Atomics‘ Energy Group, issued the following statement on Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz’s report recommended continued U.S. support for ITER, the world’s largest magnetic fusion device designed to prove the feasibility of fusion power as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy based … Read more

US advised to stick with troubled fusion reactor ITER

US advised to stick with troubled fusion reactor ITER

nature.com Davide Castelvecchi& Jeff Tollefson, 27 May 2016 Matthieu Colin/ITER The ITER project under construction in southern France on 29 April 2016. The Department of Energy says the US should fund ITER until 2018, and then re-evaluate its progress. The troubled multibillion-euro nuclear-fusion project ITER has improved its performance and management, and the United States … Read more

Princeton Plasma Physics Lab Studies Energy Source

Princeton Plasma Physics Lab Studies Energy Source

NJTV By Briana Vannozzi | 5-23-16 Inside a metal spheroid covered with beams and high-tech magnets, scientists are hoping to achieve something that sounds impossible. Create a star on Earth, essentially in a bottle. “We are starting a new experiment its called NSTX-U — the National Spherical Torus Upgrade — and it’s going to push … Read more

IPR gives fusion breakthrough to India

IPR gives fusion breakthrough to India

Times of India Paul John | TNN | May 24, 2016 Ahmedabad: After six years of committed effort, India’s steady state experimental superconducting Tokamak (SST-1) fusion reactor has made its first major breakthrough. On Saturday, at the Institute of Plasma Research (IPR) in Bhat a team of scientists were able to confine plasma – a … Read more

Overall Satisfaction Is Up and Monthly Bills Down, Yet Electric Providers Still Lag Behind Other Industries in Customer Satisfaction, J.D. Power Study Finds

Overall Satisfaction Is Up and Monthly Bills Down, Yet Electric Providers Still Lag Behind Other Industries in Customer Satisfaction, J.D. Power Study Finds

J.D. Power Power Reliability Shows Improvement; Communications about Outages Is Key COSTA MESA, Calif.: 13 July 2016 — Although customer-reported monthly electric bills have fallen to their lowest levels in 10 years and overall satisfaction is on the rise, electric utility providers continue to struggle to match other industries in customer satisfaction, according to the … Read more

A Star on Earth

A Star on Earth

At the Energy Department’s Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, scientists are trying to accomplish what was once considered the realm of science fiction: create a star on Earth. The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is a magnetic fusion device that is used to study the physics principles of spherically shaped plasmas — hot ionized gases in … Read more

Rockefeller Family VC Funds Risky Fusion Energy Project

Rockefeller Family VC Funds Risky Fusion Energy Project

issues.org Winter, 2016 by Ray Rothrock A venture capitalist takes on fusion energy I am a venture capitalist and have been for 27 years. Trained in nuclear engineering in the 1970s, I worked in that profession until 1988, when I joined Venrock, the private venture partnership of the Rockefeller family. Since then, I’ve learned a … Read more