While the reality of affordable fusion energy is still an atom-smashing twinkle in physicists’ eyes, the state of Washington is moving ahead with plans to support the nascent commercial fusion sector.
Gov. Jay Inslee today is signing legislation that clearly establishes fusion power — energy that’s made by slamming together small atoms under high pressure — as a source of clean energy that could help the state meet its climate goals.
The measure, SHB 1942, also requires the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council and the Department of Health to form a work group of relevant state agencies to begin exploring pathways for permitting, siting and licensing fusion energy plants.
Fusion energy is still a mystery to many people, so this provides a little education, said Ryan Umstattd, vice president of product and partnerships at Zap Energy, a fusion company based in Everett, Wash.
“[It’s] just letting folks know, at the very beginning, yes, fusion is clean energy, instead of them having to wonder,” Umstattd said. “Because they know that wind is, and they know that solar is, but is fusion clean? Well, yes, it is.”
Zap is one of four Pacific Northwest companies working to commercialize fusion. Others include Washington’s Helion Energy and Avalanche Energy, and General Fusion in British Columbia.
Fusion entrepreneurs and researchers are trying to replicate and scale down the reactions that power the sun and the stars. If they crack the technology, it could unleash a limitless supply of carbon-free power.
The work has been underway for decades, and in December 2022 physicists with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced that they had achieved fusion ignition — a significant milestone in fusion energy where the fusion reaction releases more energy than went into it. The lab has repeated the achievement multiple times since then.
But there are still giant technical hurtles to overcome. The national lab experiment required much more energy to create the conditions that made fusion possible than the reaction itself generated. Skeptics predict it will be decades before fusion power will plug into the electrical grid.
Others are more hopeful. That includes Rep. Clyde Shavers, D-Oak Harbor, who was one of the sponsors of the bipartisan legislation.
“As a legislator, our duty, our responsibility is to solve tomorrow’s problems today,” Shavers said. “And I think one of the solutions, in terms of protecting our environment, is the pursuit of fusion technology.”
The region’s fusion ventures are charging ahead. Helion is aiming to deploy a commercial power plant in Washington by 2028, with Microsoft as its customer. Zap’s target for commercial power is 2030.
Umstattd said that scientific progress and funding from private and public sources are propelling the field, so it makes sense to prep for next steps.
“It’s important to start our engines when it comes to regulatory [processes]. And we’re starting our engines when it comes to supply chains and making sure that we’re going to be able to scale up manufacturing,” he said. “So this is an important piece of legislation for us because it makes it clear how we might permit within the state of Washington.”
While fusion is a form of nuclear energy, the risks associated with it are very different than with nuclear fission, which is what powers traditional nuclear reactors. Fusion, for example, cannot lead to runaway reactions and reactor meltdowns. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year determined it would regulate fusion as it does particle accelerators — which represents a much less costly and onerous process than fission power must navigate.
Some other climate tech and clean energy legislation being signed into law today:
E2SHB 1368: Supporting the adoption of electric school buses.
EHSB 1589: Addresses Puget Sound Energy’s transition off of natural gas and its efforts to help customers electrify their homes and businesses.
SHB 2156: Increases solar consumer protections by requiring specific licensing for solar installers and strengthening contract disclosures.
ESSB 6039: Directs state agencies to explore the potential for developing geothermal energy facilities in Washington.
E2SSB: 6058: Facilitates efforts to link Washington’s carbon marketplace with California and Quebec.
