II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1130

To require the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan for a magnetic fusion

burning plasma experiment for the purpose of accelerating the scientific

understanding and development of fusion as a long term energy source,

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 28, 2001

Mr. CRAIG (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. CORZINE) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan for

a magnetic fusion burning plasma experiment for the

purpose of accelerating the scientific understanding and

development of fusion as a long term energy source,

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fusion Energy

5 Sciences Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) economic prosperity is closely linked to an

2 affordable and ample energy supply;

3 (2) environmental quality is closely linked to en4 ergy production and use;

5 (3) population, worldwide economic develop6 ment, energy consumption, and stress on the envi7 ronment are all expected to increase substantially in

8 the coming decades;

9 (4) the few energy options with the potential to

10 meet economic and environmental needs for the

11 long-term future must be pursued aggressively now,

12 as part of a balanced national energy plan;

13 (5) fusion energy is a long-term energy solution

14 that is expected to be environmentally benign, safe,

15 and economical, and to use a fuel source that is

16 practically unlimited;

17 (6) the National Academy of Sciences, the

18 President’s Committee of Advisers on Science and

19 Technology, and the Secretary of Energy Advisory

20 Board have each recently reviewed the Fusion En21 ergy Sciences Program and each strongly supports

22 the fundamental science and creative innovation of

23 the program, and has confirmed that progress to24 ward the goal of producing practical fusion energy

25 has been excellent;
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1 (7) each of these reviews stressed the need for

2 the Fusion Energy Sciences Program to move for3 ward to a magnetic fusion burning plasma experi4 ment, capable of producing substantial fusion power

5 output and providing key information for the ad6 vancement of fusion science;

7 (8) the National Academy of Sciences has also

8 called for a broadening of the Fusion Energy

9 Sciences Program research base as a means to more

10 fully integrate the fusion science community into the

11 broader scientific community; and

12 (9) the Fusion Energy Sciences Program budg13 et is inadequate to support the necessary science and

14 innovation for the present generation of experiments,

15 and cannot accommodate the cost of a burning plas16 ma experiment constructed by the United States, or

17 even the cost of key participation by the United

18 States in an international effort.

19 SEC. 3. PLAN FOR FUSION EXPERIMENT.

20 (a) PLAN FOR UNITED STATES FUSION EXPERI21 MENT.—The Secretary of Energy (in this Act referred to

22 as ‘‘the Secretary’’), on the basis of full consultation with,

23 and the recommendation of, the Fusion Energy Sciences

24 Advisory Committee (in this Act referred to as

25 ‘‘FESAC’’), shall develop a plan for United States con-
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1 struction of a magnetic fusion burning plasma experiment

2 for the purpose of accelerating scientific understanding of

3 fusion plasmas. The Secretary shall request a review of

4 the plan by the National Academy of Sciences, and shall

5 transmit the plan and the review to the Congress by July

6 1, 2004.

7 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF PLAN.—The plan described

8 in subsection (a) shall—

9 (1) address key burning plasma physics issues;

10 and

11 (2) include specific information on the scientific

12 capabilities of the proposed experiment, the rel13 evance of these capabilities to the goal of practical

14 fusion energy, and the overall design of the experi15 ment including its estimated cost and potential con16 struction sites.

17 (c) UNITED STATES PARTICIPATION IN AN INTER18 NATIONAL EXPERIMENT.—In addition to the plan de19 scribed in subsection (a), the Secretary, on the basis of

20 full consultation with, and the recommendation of,

21 FESAC, may also develop a plan for United States par22 ticipation in an international burning plasma experiment

23 for the same purpose, whose construction is found by the

24 Secretary to be highly likely and where United States par25 ticipation is cost effective relative to the cost and scientific
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1 benefits of a domestic experiment described in subsection

2 (a). If the Secretary elects to develop a plan under this

3 subsection, he shall include the information described in

4 subsection (b), and an estimate of the cost of United

5 States participation in such an international experiment.

6 The Secretary shall request a review by the National

7 Academies of Sciences and Engineering of a plan devel8 oped under this subsection, and shall transmit the plan

9 and the review to the Congress no later than July 1, 2004.

10 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP11 MENT.—The Secretary, through the Fusion Energy

12 Sciences Program, may conduct any research and develop13 ment necessary to fully develop the plans described in this

14 section.

15 SEC. 4. PLAN FOR FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES PROGRAM.

16 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment

17 of this Act, the Secretary, in full consultation with

18 FESAC, shall develop and transmit to the Congress a plan

19 for the purpose of ensuring a strong scientific base for

20 the Fusion Energy Sciences Program and to enable the

21 experiment described in section 3. Such plan shall include

22 as its objectives—

23 (1) to ensure that existing fusion research fa24 cilities and equipment are more fully utilized with

25 appropriate measurements and control tools;
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1 (2) to ensure a strengthened fusion science the2 ory and computational base;

3 (3) to encourage and ensure that the selection

4 of and funding for new magnetic and inertial fusion

5 research facilities is based on scientific innovation

6 and cost effectiveness;

7 (4) to improve the communication of scientific

8 results and methods between the fusion science com9 munity and the wider scientific community;

10 (5) to ensure that adequate support is provided

11 to optimize the design of the magnetic fusion burn12 ing plasma experiments referred to in section 3; and

13 (6) to ensure that inertial confinement fusion

14 facilities are utilized to the extent practicable for the

15 purpose of inertial fusion energy research and devel16 opment.

17 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec19 retary for the development and review of the plans de20 scribed in this Act and for activities of the Fusion Energy

21 Sciences Program $320,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and

22 $335,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.

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