The Possibilities of Renewable Energy: Nuclear Fusion

By Sophie Takano

Imagine a world where all the issues in our ecosystem were fixed. By desalinating seawater, we could relieve water shortage, and by recycling on a massive scale, we could extract rare earth metals that are important components to produce computers and electronics. By using a tremendous vacuuming system, we could encapsulate carbon dioxide (CO2) to slow down climate change. With an abundant supply of renewable energy, this is all possible. 

Renewable energy is energy that is taken from sources like the sun, wind, and water that are naturally unlimited in supply. It is most commonly used for generating electricity, heating and cooling, and transportation. Types of renewable energy that incorporate technology include solar panels, wind turbines, hydropower turbines, geothermal steam turbines, biomass fuels, and nuclear fusion. Solar panels are currently the most popular form of renewable energy technology; however, the energy costs of manufacturing solar panels are often unignorable and the environmental impact of wastes after its lifetime is problematic. Wind power technology produces 10% of all energy usage in the United States. However, land usage, sounds, and visual impacts are some of the major concerns associated with wind turbines. Hydropower turbines generate about 16% of the country’s energy; however, it destroys native animals, plants, and marine life habitats. Geothermal power plants use the heat taken from magma inside Earth, but its technology is limited to certain geographical areas such as locations near a volcano. Biomass fuels extract heat or electricity taken from plant-based materials or animal wastes, but carbon emission from its fuels brings a large issue. Nuclear fusion, on the other hand, has many pros and fewer cons: it’s relatively cost-efficient, causes less pollution, and can be sustainable. This is a possible route to clean forms of energy.

Nuclear fusion energy is produced when two atomic nuclei are combined to form a larger atomic nucleus. For example, the heat and light energy from the sun is produced by nuclear fusion of two hydrogen atoms combining into helium. This is critical because what happens is that more energy is gained than lost. This is also known as “energy gain.” For the longest time, fusion scientists have desperately tried to figure out how to do so. In a very recent discovery, researchers at the National Ignition Facility in California achieved this: by focusing 2.05 megajoules of laser light onto a small capsule of fusion fuel, it sparked an explosion which produced 3.15 megajoules of energy, more energy than what was begun with. According to Science, “fusion holds the promise of plentiful, carbon-free energy, without many radioactive headaches of fission-driven nuclear power.” 

With growing advancements and successful experiments of renewable energy, there is great hope for a sustainable future. 

Works Cited

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Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. “Renewable Energy.” Energy.gov, 2022, www.energy.gov/eere/renewable-energy.

Rare earth metals: challenge for a low carbon future. “Rare Earth Metals: Challenge for a Low Carbon Future.” Oxford Policy Management, 11 Dec. 2018, www.opml.co.uk/blog/rare-earth-metals-challenge-low-carbon-future.

Ro, Christine. “Renewable Energy Costs Have Dropped Much Faster than Expected, but There’s a Catch.” Forbes, 14 Sept. 2022, www.forbes.com/sites/christinero/2022/09/14/renewable-energy-costs-have-dropped-much-faster-than-expected-but-theres-a-catch/?sh=12ac66df3164. Accessed 16 Dec. 2022.

Turgeon, Andrew, and Elizabeth Morse. “Biomass Energy | National Geographic Society.” Education.nationalgeographic.org, national geographic, 20 May 2022, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/biomass-energy.