"A fusion reactor capable of producing limitless clean energy is up and running in Germany."

Well hardly. Scaling it up to something useful will be another thing. They haven't even got it producing continuously yet, just a burst of a second or so. Big deal. That is when the fun will really start.

David

David: Had more than the cursory look you seem to be claiming for me?

I very likely remain one of half a dozen posters who have hands on with radioactive materials!?

And it is as simple as the scientists who actually operated the WALK AWAY SAFE, Oak Ridge, molten salt thorium reactor in tennessee for five 24/7 incident free years, say it is!

The real problem as I see it, is the less than forthright debt laden, speculative middle men, who might get interested, and the massive profits they could rip from we Australians, if allowed? From a source that they could resell, with a little help from their "friends"? Costing them around a dollar a year per household?

And claim that we should remain eternally grateful for private power reticulated for 3 cents per kilowatt hour! And where they'd make a killing?

But also, and here's the kicker, expatriate profits and avoid tax? Alternatively we could given decisive informed leadership? Do it ourselves! And finance can't lose energy projects with, popular overseas, but a yet rigidly resisted here, government guaranteed, self terminating, thirty year bonds?

And divert"Australian" capital, that currently is invested elsewhere, to minimise tax?

Therefore, we'd lose absolutely nothing if we gave them a tax free status!? Meaning, the capital, our two trillion super fund would have every reason to stay here!

To effectively do fourteen trillions, or more, worth of increased economic work if you factor in the usual, times seven plus, economic flow on factors!

If you can make a substantiated fact checked case for something else less expensive or safer or cleaner? Or a better less opaque funding mechanism! Then make it! Rather than infer I lack understanding or scientific rigour!
Alan B.

Thorium does what fusion enthusiasts espouse and more? Low cost carbon free energy even the poorest nations can afford!

So cheap in fact it scares the bejesus out of the fossil fuel industry and big nuclear!

You'd think that nuclear advanced countries would opt for thorium?

Don't be stupid!

That'd make a complete nonsense out of all there current investments in plant, R+D, or the current expertise of generations of so called nuclear scientists!?

All of who have everything to lose, with a successful transition to thorium! CHEAPER THAN COAL, SAFER THAN COAL, CLEANER THAN COAL,OR ALMOST ANYTHING ELSE, THORIUM, would sound the death knell for fossil fuel industry, wind farms battery/solar technology and current big nuclear; and the weapons spinoff industries!

All stand to lose big time!

Thorium no longer needs any uranium to get started, but works just as well with a thorium isotope, thorium 303!

And should allow the uninformed reader to understand, who's up to date with their understanding of the process and others who knowingly and quite deliberately obfuscate; and or, just aren't up to speed, yet are able to infer others are less knowledgeable than they are, on the topic!

Australia needs to join the nuclear queue, not as a follower of failed technology, but a leader at the helm in a safer, cleaner, cheaper area, that has yet to fail!

Can't say more than that! Or ask for or expect less!
Particularly now!
Alan B.

Hi Geoff of Perth

Re "fusion reactor".

Here's a better, more contentious, source http://www.inquisitr.com/3786218/wendelstein-7-x-star-in-a-jar-fusion-reactor-works-promises-infinite-energy-according-to-new-research/ than "9news"

eg. the inquisitr article carries the comment: “The plasma is so hot, in fact, that it would instantly burn material used to contain it,” according to Space.com."

I wonder if this fusion experiment has resolved a major problem of previous experiments ie. the need to focus MORE heat, electrical and magnetic energy to initiate the fusion reaction than the LEVEL of energy produced by the fusion reaction...AND how long is the experiment? (a few milliseconds?)

Pete

The whole problem is a lot more complicated that has been discussed here.
First, has no one noticed that the major oil companies have stopped
investing in search & development projects ?
We will need increasing amounts of electricity to compensate.

The European fusion project has reported they can get an ERoEI of 10.
I think they said for several minutes.

I am in favour of nuclear, but in the period ahead can we afford to
build it ? Indeed do we have the time to build it ?
Will anyone finance us to build it while our debt is at its present
level and not being repaid ?

There seems to be a reluctance to look the big problem square in the face.
Reliability !
The following is the current standard;
The reliability standard currently requires that no more than 0.002
per cent of customer demand within a region (11 minutes per year)
be unserved as a result of a shortage of generation capacity once
demand-side response and imports from other regions are taken into account.

Using solar & wind as you approach that standard the cost escalates
in what looks like an exponential curve and I suspect would reach
a cost of $infinity.

As that is an impossibility, some cost isolated base generation is
not just necessary, but must be the centre around which solar & wind
are just useful additions.

It is just the way it is, get used to it !