Wisconsin lawmakers and researchers have found common ground in the idea of making the state into the "Silicon Valley" for nuclear fusion development.
A group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been working with local Realta Fusion to make fusion energy a reality, but they're not the only ones, according to a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Three of the 45 companies working on fusion are already based in Wisconsin, and new bills supporting the advancement of this promising clean energy technology could draw even more to the area.
Fusion is still theoretical, but advancements are being made daily to bring this nearly limitless energy resource to fruition. It could be the perfect complement for other renewables like solar and wind power, and would help reduce reliance on burning dirty fuels for energy.
The process looks to recreate the reactions that occur naturally in our Sun, where two nuclei are combined to form a new atom, giving off energy in the process. It requires complex machinery and temperatures hotter than the sun to create the superheated plasma where these reactions take place.
Researchers at the ITER fusion research facility in France claim that key fusion performance parameters have increased by a factor of 10,000 in the last 60 years and are now less than a factor of 10 away from producing successful fusion reactions.
It's a cleaner and safer type of nuclear energy that doesn't produce radioactive waste or carbon pollution and isn't prone to runaway reactions that nuclear fission can produce.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers included nuclear energy in his recent budget proposal, and state lawmakers are pushing a package of bills that would lay the groundwork for advancing this technology to help meet rising energy demands statewide, the article explained.
Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, is one of those lawmakers supporting the push for fusion development and expansion in the state.
"We are already in a deficit position in terms of energy production and next-generation nuclear provides the greatest opportunity for sustainable, clean, safe energy for the people and businesses of Wisconsin," said Steffen, per the article.
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Definitely 👍 A newly proposed Microsoft data center is helping to drive the bill package's adoption, considering the enormous amount of energy that will be needed to power it.
"We are going to be in a dramatic energy production deficit very soon," Steffen told the outlet. "The Microsoft data center campus will be drawing more power than the entire city of Madison."
Fusion plants require a cooling system but use much less water than current nuclear reactors; since they're safer, there will likely need to be less space between them and community populations.
"The next generation nuclear is not your father's nuclear," said Steffen. "The plans that are going to be coming online in the next decade are ones that are safer, cleaner, produce less waste. They're smaller."
It's "an incredible opportunity for the future," he added, where Wisconsin could have the chance of being at the forefront of a sustainable energy revolution.
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