A tiny town in central Washington state could boast the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant by 2028, bringing ‘limitless’ clean energy to the US.
This plant would harness the same process that powers the sun to create enough energy to run about 50,000 homes.
Helion Energy, an American fusion research company, is gearing up to build a 50-megawatt nuclear fusion power plant in Malaga, Washington, a rural community of Chelan County with a population of just 2,000.
The facility would use a fusion reactor to subject atoms to such extreme pressure and heat that they fuse together to produce heavier atoms.
This process releases an enormous amount of heat energy which can be converted to electricity.
This type of energy production is totally carbon-free, and it’s essentially limitless because the fuel for fusion reactions can be extracted from seawater — a highly abundant and available resource.
While this is a great idea in theory, no one has actually managed to build a commercially-viable nuclear fusion power plant yet.
Helion has not officially selected a site for the power plant, but it is in talks with local officials about constructing the plant on Malaga land owned by the Chelan Public Utility District (PUD).
A tiny town in central Washington state could boast world’s first nuclear fusion power plant by 2028, bringing ‘limitless’ clean energy to the US
Helion has not officially selected a site for the power plant, but it is in talks with local officials about constructing the plant on Malaga land owned by the Chelan Public Utility District (PUD)
The potential site is near Rock Island Dam, along the Chelan County side of the Columbia River.
Malaga is a moderately wealthy suburb of Wenatchee. Its economy mainly relies on agriculture and tourism, but this potential fusion project could make it a prominent player in the energy industry.
Helion aims to start construction on the plant this summer and hopes the plant could start generating fusion energy just three years later.
The company plans on hiring roughly 130 workers for the construction of the plant, and 30 staffers to oversee plant operations once the facility is built.
If Helion meets its 2028 goal, this company would beat out the current frontrunner in the American nuclear fusion energy race: Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS).
CFS has been making strides toward building a 400-megawatt plant in Virginia, but it’s not expected to be fully operational until the early 2030s.
Helion’s success would not only mark a major milestone for the US, but it would also drastically change the energy landscape of central Washington.
Hydropower has traditionally been the primary source of clean energy in this region, but Chelan PUD officials hope this project could help them expand their power production and meet future energy demands.
If Helion meets its 2028 goal, this company would beat out the current frontrunner in the American nuclear fusion energy race: Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS)
This plant would harness the same process that powers the sun to create enough energy to run about 50,000 homes
‘The demand for clean energy is not going away and it’s only growing,’ said Chelan PUD’s Kirk Hudson during a recent stakeholder meeting.
‘We have all of our eggs in one basket in hydropower, which has served us very well, but the future is going to be much different than the past has been.’
But the energy produced by this fusion power plant won’t immediately go to Washington residents. Initially, it will support a purchase agreement with Microsoft.
Over the long-term, this clean energy source will become accessible to local customers. The PUD is optimistic that its benefits will extend to residents of Chelan County and the broader region.
What’s more, Helion says their 50-megawatt plant is just the beginning.
‘Fifty megawatts is a big first step of commercial-scale fusion,’ Helion founder and CEO David Kirtley previously told Reuters.
‘The revenue feeds right back into us developing more power plants and getting fusion out on the grid both in the United States and internationally as fast as possible.’
Around 40 different American companies and several government labs are currently racing to be the first to bring fusion energy to the nation’s electric grid.
Fusion power works by subjecting atoms to such extreme pressure and heat that they fuse together to produce heavier atoms, releasing lots of energy in the process
But the US isn’t the only horse in this race. On a global scale, China is currently considered the frontrunner.
The Chinese government is pouring an estimated $1.5 billion into fusion energy development each year, Jean Paul Allain, leader of the US Energy Department’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, previously told CNN.
By comparison, the Biden administration spent roughly $800 million a year on this venture.
And although China entered the race later than the US, its progress has ramped up significantly in recent years.
Industry data published by the Japanese business publication Nikkei shows that China currently has more fusion patents than any other country in the world.
So, there’s a lot riding on Helion’s ambitious new project. If they can meet their 2028 target, the US may still be able to come out on top of the fusion energy showdown.
