[darkmighty]

I too like the idea of Fusion reactors, (I am enamored with the dreamy prospect of fusion for space travel), but I think Elon Musk's observation is obligatory here:

Why spend huge sums in a fusion reactor, when we have a perfectly reliable funsion reactor right above us, the Sun, giving power at a convenient form (~500nm light -- far better than heat), at convenient power densities (not too high to overheat panels and not too low to be uneconomical), is available virtually everywhere, etc. It really is like we had already built a reactor and only need to add the last, least expensive, bit of energy harvesting.

The only thing Solar cannot compete well with are fossil fuels, which are essentially like discovering charged batteries buried in the ground (which is great, but they'll run out, and are ruining our environment), or wind/hydro in some places (where energy is begging to be harvested in the form of kinetic energy or potential).

Our salvation (for this crisis :) ) is indeed already within our reach, we only need to act...

[Nasrudith]

The why is essentially density and availability. While solar is great for cheapness it has other constraints. It may still be more expensive in kWHr cost but it would certainly have its uses.

[DennisP]

> The only thing Solar cannot compete well with are fossil fuels

So, that's sort of the point of fusion. It's clean energy with no need for storage.

[pmoriarty]

One way of harvesting solar energy that's technically possible but is not even on the horizon, as far as I know, is using giant mirrors or lenses out in space to focus sunlight down to Earth.

If it weren't for its potential use as a weapon, I'd look forward to seeing it put in practice.

[mirimir]

Yep, our global fusion plant in the sky.