Bill Text: NJ AR88 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Congress and President to increase funding for fusion energy research.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee [AR88 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-AR88-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DONALD A. GUARDIAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Congress and President to increase funding for fusion energy research.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Assembly Resolution urging Congress and the President to increase funding for fusion energy research.
Whereas, Nuclear fusion is a method of producing energy by fusing atoms of one or more elements together to create atoms of another element; and
Whereas, Fusion requires temperatures of 150,000,000 degrees Celsius, so successfully containing a fusion reaction has proven to be a substantial engineering challenge; and
Whereas, Fusion promises to be a sustainable source of energy which is environmentally benign, producing neither atmospheric pollutants nor long-term radioactive waste; and
Whereas, Energy generation from fusion may result in improved global political stability, since it would represent an inexpensive, long-term energy source; and
Whereas, New Jersey is a leader in fusion energy research, and it is home to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), one of the foremost centers for fusion energy research in the world; and
Whereas, The PPPL currently houses one of the most powerful electromagnets in the world, which is needed to contain the high-temperature plasma that allows for fusion, and the design of the PPPL is currently thought to be the top contender for practical fusion energy production; and
Whereas, Advancing fusion research is not only important because of its direct applications, it also requires the development of new technologies and materials that have unexpected beneficial applications in other fields; and
Whereas, There is also a growing interest in fusion from the private sector, and increased funding for public-private partnership ventures could lead to economic benefits to the State; and
Whereas, The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) - which, when completed, will be the world's largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment - is currently under construction in France, and needs continued financial support from the United States government in order to become operational; and
Whereas, Congress should increase its appropriations to the Fusion Energy Sciences program in the Department of Energy, in order to support the PPPL, ITER, as well as private enterprises pursuing this promising and potentially revolutionary technology; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House urges
Congress and the President to increase funding for fusion energy research, in
order to facilitate the development of this promising energy source.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of the United States Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges Congress and the President to increase funding for fusion energy research. Fusion promises to be an inexpensive, sustainable, and environmentally friendly source of energy, and facilitating its development could produce great economic and environmental benefits for the country. In addition, New Jersey is home to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), one of the foremost centers for fusion energy research in the world.
