FUSION ENERGY WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1993 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:35 p.m., in room 2318, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Marilyn Lloyd (Chairperson of the Subcommittee) presiding. Mrs. LLOYD. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and the Subcommittee will come to order. I would ask unanimous consent that today's proceedings be covered by the media. Without objection, so ordered. Today we will receive testimony from witnesses in the fusion energy field. The United States has participated in the development of systems to derive energy from the fusion processes for 40 years. We've learned much. We still do not have an operating power-producing fusion facility, however, and many challenging obstacles lie ahead. Well, someone might ask, why, then, continue to bother with such a difficult technology? Well, the answer is that we seek to provide a reliable source of electric power for future generations. Our oil, our natural gas, and coal are all limited to a relatively short period of time. Columbus reached our shores about 500 years ago. In much less time than that, fossil fuels which provide for today's energy, for much of today's energy, for all practical purposes, will be exhausted. Fusion promises us a virtually unlimited supply of potentially clean energy. But our fusion program may be entering a state of reassessment. This, in part, may be the result of not having produced a fusion energy plant, or maybe it's because we have all become much more aware of the pressure on Federal research funds. Last year we produced an energy policy bill which became public law. Now, less than one year later, Senator Johnston has prepared a new bill, S. 646, called the International Fusion Energy Act of 1993. That bill would essentially focus the fusion program exclusively on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ITER, and allow a small sum for research. S. 646 reflects the impatience that in varying degrees we all share, the need to move toward an operational fusion power facility. Today's hearing objective is to cover four parts of our fusion research and development program: the ITER, deuterium/tritium ex (1) periments, the need for a new facility, the tokamak plasma experiment, and new approaches to fusion research and development. And I'd like to recognize Mr. Fawell at this time for any opening remarks. Mr. FAWELL. Thank you, Madam Chairman. If I may at this point ask unanimous consent for inclusion in the record an opening statement from the Honorable Robert Walker, who cannot be here, but has prepared a special statement, making special reference, I might add, to Dr. Randy Mills, who is president of the HydroCatalysis Power Corporation, who apparently lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and I believe that that is within the congressional district of Mr. Walker. So if I may have unanimous consent to have this statement Mrs. LLOYD. Without objection, so ordered. Mr. FAWELL. Thank you. [The prepared opening statement of Mr. Walker follows:] OPENING STATEMENT HON. ROBERT S. WALKER Thank you Madam Chairman. I join with you in welcoming our distinguished panel of witnesses. I extend a particular welcome to a constituent of mine from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Dr. Randy Mills, President of HydroCatalysis Power Corporation. Dr. Mills, a member of our third panel on alternative programs, will be sharing with us results from his experiments in producing energy from light-water electrolytic cells, which I believe offers very exciting possibilities. Our other panels will be focusing their remarks on the overall DOE Fusion program to include our experiments with tokamaks. I believe this to be an important juncture in our Fusion Energy Program. The Department of Energy has provided us with a budget request that continues the R&D programs at Princeton, U.S. involvement in the ITER program, and funding to build the Tokamak Physics Experiment. Yet there is a move in Congress to concentrate our Fusion R&D on the international effort taking place with our European, Japanese, and Russian partners. I am inclined to agree with the shift in emphasis of this program to the international arena. I believe in the long run this will be the best use of our limited funds and will prove to our international partners our willingness to share our resources and our research. Fusion experiments have come a long way in the last 40 years; the progress can be scientifically demonstrated. However, a plateau of sorts has been reached and I believe, in this time of shrinking budgets, that future progress will depend largely on our ability to cooperate with our global partners. I look forward to the testimony and to the answers to our questions. And thank you |