Sir, – I agree with most of the points in Christopher Hone’s letter concerning nuclear fusion (January 8th). I have been interested in the idea of energy from nuclear fusion since I was in school. I left school in 1967 and the nuclear enthusiasts then told us that fusion power would be available in 30 or 40 years. Now 47 years later, it is still at least 30 years before a large-scale plant might be available.
However, is nuclear fusion a good investment? The costs of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) have spiralled. Initial projections in 2006 costed it at €5 billion to build and €5 billion to run and decommission the plant.
Since then the construction costs alone have more than tripled.
Due to the urgency of the need to tackle climate change and to reduce the production of greenhouse gases, the continued investment in fusion does not make sense. The money invested could instead be used for other energy systems (such as solar, etc) that will deliver far more in the next 30 years. – Yours, etc,
NICK ARMSTRONG,
Pine Copse Road,
Dundrum, Dublin 16.