Fusion reactors: Not what they’re cracked up to be
There&#x27;s nothing quite like trying to get fusion to work for a while to make you appreciate how awesome fission technology is.<p>If we applied even half the cleverness needed for fusion to making better fission technology, we&#x27;d probably be way better off.<p>...and then there&#x27;s solar. Why even bother with producing the energy, just capture it with a very thin solid state device! Just need to automate the planting of solar panels in the desert, and we could produce all of our electricity from the Sun. Using just a fifth to a tenth of the land (and much crappier land that nothing much can grow on) that we use for &#x2F;ethanol&#x2F; production alone.<p>(Yes, storage is tough, but is getting cheaper, and we can just plant more solar panels so there&#x27;s enough power even during cloudy days... Although this is mostly a thought exercise. The best plan for deep decarbonization by far is to operate with a mix of clean power sources optimized for high capacity factor, including at least our current nuclear fleet... They help provide a reliable baseline which drastically reduces the amount of storage and over-installation required. That last 20% of power produced by nuclear is worth its weight in gold and should be protected at least until all fossil power production is ended.)