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18 billion USD for a fusion reactor. installed utility solar is right now about $1.50 / watt. The subsidy is 1/3 that. So $0.50 / watt. $18 billion would in
by codecamper 10y ago
18 billion USD for a fusion reactor.
installed utility solar is right now about $1.50 / watt. The subsidy is 1/3 that. So $0.50 / watt.
$18 billion would incentivize 36 billion watts.
36 GW of fully installed utility solar is about half of all the PV solar installed in the world in 2016.
36GW vs 3GW (iter's 500MW * 6 because the panels provide maybe just 4 hours per day)
I realize fusion may be long term important, so well spent. Just hope people are remembering we've got that big fusion ball in the sky.
- superuser2 10y agoI expect my lights to turn on when it's dark or cloudy outside. Fusion facilitates that, solar doesn't (unless we also get breakthroughs in battery tech).
- marssaxman 10y agoLighting takes very little power once you switch to LEDs. I replaced all the bulbs in my house a couple of years back, and the total draw - were we to turn all interior and exterior lights on at once - would come in at around 250 watts. This is effectively negligible - the refrigerator alone uses at least twice that much. In any case, the real answer is not solar by itself, but solar plus other sustainable sources like wind and hydro.
- DrScump 10y agoYou aren't counting real estate costs, environmental impact, etc.