Fusion power

Ongoing innovations in fusion power could lead to the power of the sun at our fingertips. Recent breakthroughs in waste- and emissions-free fusion energy could help to eliminate the drawbacks of fission-based nuclear power and solve critical questions about global energy needs. While practical fusion energy is still likely decades away, National Ignition Facility scientists in July 2023 againsuccessfully generated energyin a fusion reaction. This experiment nearly doubled the energy output of the initial breakthrough in 2022, demonstrating continued advancements in the field. On the heels of this work, the Biden administration recently announced plans to build the world'sfirst commercial fusion energy plantwithin a decade. While ambitious, advancements within this timeline could be key to addressing the climate crisis. The potential impacts of fusion power are extremely difficult to quantify, but if scalable and practical it could likely outcompete all of the existing energy sources in use today. Planners should take note of developments in this field and think of possible avenues for their communities to become involved.