Plans for ground-breaking power station move forward (From The Oxford Times)

Plans for ground-breaking power station move forward

2:20pm Monday 13th October 2008 in Search By Andrew Smith

PLANS which could see a groundbreaking power station built in Oxfordshire have taken a step forward.

Scientists and Government officials from Britain and nine other countries have signed an agreement to co-operate on the planning and design of HiPER (High Power Laser Energy Research Facility).

The £600m plant would demonstrate the technology needed to make commercial fusion power a reality for the first time and the project is being led by a team from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) at Chilton, where scientists believe it could be placed.

Using powerful lasers, it will mimic the way the Sun burns nuclear fuel to generate vast amounts of energy.

Ultimately, the aim is to generate more energy than we consume — solving global power needs.

Fusion energy is an environmentally clean power source, using sea water as its principal source of fuel. No greenhouse gases and long-lived radioactive waste are produced.

Professor Mike Dunne, HiPER project leader and director of photon science at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) based at RAL, said: “The benefits of fusion energy cannot be overstated in a global setting where climate change, pollution, energy security and the ever increasing demand for energy consumption represent the principal challenge facing humankind. HiPER represents a very significant step on that journey.”

Mr Dunne has previously stated that RAL would be the most obvious choice for the location of the plant if the green light was given for it to be built in the UK. Hundreds of jobs would be created as a result.

Two large facilities nearing completion in California and Bordeaux are expected to demonstrate that laser fusion works within the next few years.

Preparatory planning and design of HiPER is due to last three years. The facility is expected to begin operation in the early 2020s.