Alternative renewable energy sources
Part of the Community Resilience Series
By Jared Goldman, UNC Math and Computer Science student
Climate change has caused significant damage to habitats all over the globe. It has led to increased wildfires from California to Australia and threatens to drown many coastal areas. One of the leading causes of climate change is the production and usage of fossil fuels to generate energy. Scientists have long been exploring alternatives to traditional energy sources which could reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. In spite of renewable energy research, North Carolina remains a slow adopter with 90% of last year’s energy produced by fossil fuels compared to the national average of 83%.
One promising alternative to fossil fuels is nuclear fusion. It should not be confused with power generated through nuclear fission, which was responsible for such catastrophes as Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. The essential difference is that nuclear fusion creates energy by uniting two different atoms while fission divides a single atom. Fusion is produced using seawater in a highly technical process making the Triangle a perfect place to experiment in the burgeoning field. The RTP’s world-class research capacities in both academia and industry combined with easy access to the Atlantic Ocean create the perfect conditions for fusion generation.
Currently, 70% of the total renewables produced in NC come from solar energy. It has gained popularity since becoming increasingly profitable after recent Chinese subsidies. Recently, China has been forced to roll back subsidies on solar due to the economic strain of COVID-19. This has caused many to speculate that solar will no longer be cost competitive with other traditional energy sources in years to come. Additionally, effective solar panels and batteries are made of rare earth metals which are often sourced using child labor in unstable regions raising a host of ethical issues. Additionally, scientists suggest that there may not be enough rare earth metals available for solar to replace fossil fuels.
Nuclear fusion provides another renewable energy alternative for North Carolina, in addition to solar energy. John Deutch, Dean of Chemistry at MIT said in an interview that fusion is one of the most attractive sources for renewable energy. Fusion energy generates four million times as much energy as burning fossil fuels, does not produce long-term radioactive waste, and is fueled by one of the most prevalent resources we have access to: hydrogen from seawater. Sea level rise is one of the most harmful and persistent effects of climate change but the excess of ocean water would not pose a problem for fusion reactors. Instead this could provide an abundance of fuel.
Fusion energy is a circular solution to the energy crisis as it uses readily available seawater for fuel and has the potential to produce massive amounts of energy along with a usable byproduct, helium. Helium is used in many applications throughout chemistry and healthcare but is in short supply globally. This means that fusion produces clean, renewable energy while creating a waste product that is usable for other processes.
Although fusion energy shows great promise, there have not been any commercially viable projects to date. This due to a lack of funding in the field in combination with the difficulty in facilitating a fusion reaction under reasonable conditions. Fusion is the process that powers our sun and all other stars in the universe, but in order to replicate that reaction on Earth, we need to create extremely high pressure and temperature (100 million degrees C).
Despite the difficulties of achieving fusion, several initiatives have shown great promise. Notably: ITER, a massive international effort stationed in France; First Light, a recent startup with inspiration from the pistol shrimp; and the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Additionally in 2020, a coalition of US scientists has resolved to take dramatic and necessary steps to realizing fusion power in the near future.
A circular economy is underpinned by renewable energy. Solar energy is one renewable, clean energy source that has attracted a lot of attention but suffers from some ethical and supply chain issues. Nuclear fusion still has a long way to go but it could be another renewable solution. The process transforms seawater into energy and helium making the fuel easy to source and circular. With a vast fuel supply, clean energy output, and usable byproducts, fusion is a promising alternative to fossil fuels and modern renewables alike.
