http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/365/15728_ITER.html
Alternative energy source, originally proposed by the USSR, to be built
in France
06/30/2005 13:04
Once the construction of the thermonuclear reactor is finished, it will
be able to supply a half of Europe with electric power
The ambitious project of the International Thermonuclear Experimental
Reactor (ITER) has finally moved from the dead point. World's leading powers
participating in the project finally agreed to build the reactor in France,
which eventually won the right to house the reactor in the competition against
Japan.
Japan had to give up the idea of building the reactor on its territory on
account of economic difficulties. The terms stipulate that the country, which
wins the right for the construction of the thermonuclear reactor on its
territory, would have to cover 40 percent of the reactor's cost.
The project is estimated at the total of $13 billion. The hosting state
would thus have to invest $6-8 billion. Other members of the project - China,
Russia, the USA, South Korea and Japan - will invest 10 percent of the cost
each.
It is noteworthy that in addition to heavy costs, the project promises to
bring considerable advantages to France. The construction of the reactor is to
bring some 2,400 new jobs; over 3,000 vacancies will appear during the
operation of the reactor, which will last until 2035, RIA Novosti reports. The
thermonuclear reactor will be built in France, Alpes de Haute Provence, from
2005 to 2015.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin expressed his gratitude to
the partners for confidence, which France was honored to receive. The premier
said that the implementation of the project would let France create 4,000 new
jobs: it is a very important factor, which will make for the development of the
nation's research potential.
Russia's role in the grand project makes up about ten percent. About 200
Russian enterprises and organizations will be contracted for the project of the
thermonuclear reactor.
The scientific research within the ITER project was funded in Russia at
the expense of the ITER federal target program, which is about to be completed
during the current year. However, the Russian Ministry for Economic Development
and Trade suggested the funding of the program should be stopped along with the
funding of other programs, which the ministry considered ineffective.
Spokespeople for the Russian Agency for Nuclear Power hope that the
question about the budgetary funding of the program will be solved after an
adequate intergovernmental agreement is signed. The press secretary of the
Russian Ministry for Finances, Gennady Yezhov, stated two days ago that the
ministry would provide a separate expenditure clause in the budget for the
funding of the ITER, if the agreement is signed. The Russian Agency for Nuclear
Power would cover a part of the costs anyway.
The perspectives of the controlled thermonuclear power in the energy
industry are obvious to everyone. Scientists differ in their opinions only in
terms of the time, within which a practical result can be received. Some of
them think that it will be possible to achieve a result during the forthcoming
decade, whereas others believe that the thermonuclear reactor will bring its
good to the next generation of humans only.
In the future, ITER may become the prototype of thermonuclear power
plants, which will become a source of cheap energy. It is worth mentioning that
this energy will not be dependant on natural resources at all. "Unlike a
nuclear reactor, a thermonuclear reactor cannot explode. Furthermore, it does
not pose any threat to the natural environment either," the leading specialist
of the ITER project in the Russian Agency for Nuclear Power, Vitaly Korzhavin,
told the Vedomosti newspaper.
It was the USSR, which set forth the revolutionary project to harness the
thermonuclear power to the international community in 1985. The Soviet Union
attracted most outstanding specialists of thermonuclear studies to work on the
project. The project of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
was officially launched in 1986 under the aegis of IAEA.
The USA lost its interest in the ITER in 1998. However, when the Bush's
administration became extremely concerned about the future of the nation's
energy security, the USA joined the project again. China followed the example
of the States as well.
It will take specialists seven years to build the reactor, which is
expected to launch the source of alternative energy. Once the construction is
completed, the output of the reactor will be enough to supply a half of Europe
with electric power. The members of the project hope that the reactor will be
put into operation immediately after the end of the trial tests.
Read the original in Russian:
http://www.pravda.ru/economics/2005/7/23/69/20206_iter.html (Translated by:
Dmitry Sudakov)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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