The Basic Case If the aspirations of an expanding population are to be met in the course of the next 50 years, the world is going to need more electricity at an economical and environmentally acceptable cost. Although energy efficiency improvements will occur, substantial overall growth in demand is unavoidable. The supply options may comprise of fossil fuels, fission, fusion, renewables (solar, wind, tidal, waves, ocean thermal gradients and hydro), biomass and geothermal heat. Newly recognised environmental imperatives - control of the greenhouse effect and of the effects of acidic pollution - mean that reliance on fossil fuels will have to be severely constrained. Nuclear fission has the ability to make a long-lasting major contribution but suffers from problems of public and political acceptability.

Fusion, however, offers a secure, long-term source of supply, with important environmental advantages, such as: even the most unlikely accidents would be very limited in their effect, and would not require public evacuation.

the wastes from a fusion power plant would not require isolation from the environment for a prolonged timespan. safety should be more readily demonstrable to a non-scientist. there is no contribution to greenhouse gases or acidic emissions. there are no nuclear proliferation problems. Because of fusion's environmental advantages, there are no difficulties envisaged on grounds of public acceptance to the widespread, intensive and indefinite deployment of fusion power plants. Present indications are that the cost of fusion-generated electricity will be broadly comparable to the cost of fossil-fuel-generated and fission-generated electricity.