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* U N I V E R S I T Y F U S I O N A S S O C I A T I O N
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* News and Information
| Oct. 10, 2000
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. UFA SPONSORS WORKSHOP ON THE SCIENCE OF BURNING PLASMAS
2. OFES ANNOUNCES AWARDS FOR NEW PROGRAMS IN FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES
3. FY2001 US FUSION BUDGET PROVIDES GOOD NEWS!
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1. UFA Sponsors Workshop on the Science of Burning Plasmas
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The UFA Executive Committee has voted to have the UFA sponsor a community workshop on the Science of Burning Plasmas in the MFE program.
While there has been a continuing interest in burning plasma (BP) science in the MFE community following Snowmass and stirred up by work on Next Step Options, there is as yet no consensus in the fusion community on the priority of such studies in a fusion science program. The goal of this worksop is to further an on-going dialog on the scientific merits of studying burning plasmas, and aid the eventual development of a community consensus on the basic merits (or demerits) of burning plasma studies in the context of a science-based fusion program. It will focus on MFE science issues, assuming that the National Ignition Facility is already scheduled to provide BP science studies for IFE applications.
Logistics:
Date = Dec 11-13, 2000
Location = University of Texas at Austin
Gerald Navratil of Columbia is chair of the organizing committee.
A preliminary announcement of this workshop will be released soon. All members of the fusion research community are welcome to participate.
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2. OFES Announces Awards for New Programs in Fusion Energy Sciences
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The DOE Office of Fusion Energy Science has announced the results of the solicitation for New Programs in Fusion Energy Sciences (Notice 00-07) which OFES sponsored this past year.
This solicitation covered 5 specific subtopics:
1. Magnetic Fusion Concept Exploration Experiments
2. Inertial Fusion Energy Concept Exploration Research
3. Inertial Fusion Energy Chamber and Target Research
4. Magnetic Fusion Liquid Wall Experiments
5. Fusion Materials Modeling.
There was also a simultaneous solicitation for Basic & Applied Plasma Science programs at National Laboratories that was completed this year.
Altogether 18 proposals have been approved through an extensive series of peer reviews. Of these, 8 new grants were awarded to university-based investigators. Funding of about $2.7M is expected to be provided for all of these research activities in FY 2000. Most of the programs are planned to continue for a 3 year period as a result of this review process.
Decisions regarding the Fusion Materials Modeling proposals are still pending. This element is expected to be completed early next fiscal year.
Details of the awards and solicitation results have been posted as a MS Word document on the OFES web site at:
http://wwwofe.er.doe.gov/News.html
and a pdf version can be obtained at the UFA web site download area:
http://plasma.ep.wisc.edu/UFA/Download.html
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3. FY2001 US Fusion Budget Provides Good News
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In late September, the House passed the conference report on the FY01 Energy and Water Development bill. The Senate passed it soon afterwards. This bill locks in next year's funding for most of the Department of Energy's programs including magnetic and inertial fusion. The news is very good for both.
Here's a brief rundown of the numbers:
OFFICE OF FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES - $255 million, same as the House recommended level (the Senate passed number was $227 million and the Administration request was $247 million)
HIGH AVERAGE POWER LASERS - $25 million, same as the House recommended level (the Senate bill contained no funding for this nor was it included in the Administration request))
INERTIAL FUSION - $449.6 million, of which $199.1 million is for NIF, a substantial increase over both the House and Senate bills primarily because of additional dollars added for NIF construction.
One small sour note is that there is a "general reduction" included in the bill which is likely to cost the fusion energy sciences program approximately $3 million.
The language associated with these numbers is reproduced below and/or you can go to the following link and view the whole conference report on the Energy and Water bill: http://www.house.gov/rules/welcome2.htm - - click on the line that says "Conference Report for H.R. 4733" at the top.
This overall very positive result for fusion is a result of the efforts of the Members of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, most especially Chairman Ron Packard (R-CA), Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), Congressman Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Congressman Chet Edwards (D-TX) and Roger Wicker (R-MS). In turn, their key support for the program was encouraged and enabled by the letters and petitions of other Members of the House who are not on the Subcommittee but who support the program. Therefore, it is clear that the fusion community's efforts to increase and maintain support for the program on the Hill is not only important but has also borne fruit.
Please contact your Member(s) and thank them for their support of the fusion program and at the same time let them know how the budget affects your facility.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Next year, with the retirement of Chairman Packard, it is likely that we will not have a Chairman of the House Energy and Water Subcommittee who will be as naturally supportive of the program. Therefore we will all have to work harder to achieve the budget the progam needs. Please consider actively working with your Members' offices during the next few months to get them more familiar with the program and your work in an effort to lay the groundwork for our push on the budget next year.
NOTE: As was expected, the President vetoed the FY01 Energy and Water Development bill over the inclusion of a provision that prohibits the Corps of Engineers from expending any dollars to change the management of the dams on the Missouri River. Congress will likely strip the offending provision out of the bill and send it back to the President either as a free-standing bill or as part of a larger omnibus spending bill. Under any circumstance, the fusion funding will remain unchanged.
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CONFERENCE REPORT LANGUAGE
--- FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES
(The Senate conferees receded to the House language for the Fusion Energy Sciences program. That language is as follows:)
"The Committee recommendation for fusion energy sciences is $255,000,000, an increase of $7,730,000 over the budget request and the same as fiscal year 2000. Additional funding of $25,000,000 has been provided in the inertial confinement fusion program in the Weapons Activities appropriation account to support work on the development of high average power lasers.
"Funds for this program should be allocated in accordance with the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee's (FESAC) report on Balance and Priorities. The Committee is pleased that the FESAC review process seems to be positioning the U.S. program to take advantage of the much larger international fusion research effort with the resources available and also positions the program to accelerate the development of fusion energy.
"The Committee recommendation includes the budget request of $19,600,000 for decontamination and decommissioning of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR)."
---INERTIAL FUSION
"The conference agreement includes $449,600,000 for the inertial fusion program in the budget structure proposed by the House.
"Additional funding of $25,000,000 as proposed by the House has been provided to further development of high average power lasers. The conference agreement includes the budget request of $9,750,000 for the Naval Research Laboratory and the budget request of $32,150,000 for the University of Rochester. The conference agreement reflects the transfer of $40,000,000 from National Ignition Facility (NIF) operations funding to the NIF construction project.
"The conference agreement provides $2,500,000 from within available funds to transfer the Petawatt Laser from lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to the University of Nevada-Reno, as proposed by the Senate.
--- NATIONAL IGNITION FACILITY
National Ignition Facility - The conference agreement provides $199,100,000 continued construction of the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The conferees have included a directed reduction of $25,000,000 in the Weapons Activities account which is to be applied to programs under the direction of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The conferees have included statutory language providing that only $130,000,000 shall be made available for NIF at the beginning of fiscal year 2001 and the remaining $69,100,000 shall be available only upon delivery of a certification by March 31, 2001, by the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration that several requirements have been met. These requirements include:
A. A recommendation on an appropriate path forward for the project based on a detailed review of alternative construction options that would (1) focus on first achieving operation of a 48 or 96 beam laser; (2) allow for the full demonstration of such a system in support of the stockpile stewardship program before proceeding with construction and operation of a larger laser complex; and (3) include a program and funding plan for the possible future upgrade to a full NIF configuration. The recommendation should include identification of available "off-ramps" and decision points where the project could be scaled to a smaller system.
B. Certification that project and scientific milestones as established in the revised construction project data sheet for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2000 and the first two quarters of fiscal year 2001 have been met on schedule and on cost.
C. Certification that the first and second quarter project reviews determined the project to be on schedule and cost and have provided further validation to the proposed path forward.
D. Completion of a study that includes conclusions as to whether the full-scale NIF is required in order to maintain the safety and reliability of the current nuclear weapons stockpile, and whether alternatives to the NIF could achieve the objective of maintaining the safety and reliability of the current nuclear weapons stockpile.
E. Certification that the NIF project has implemented an integrated cost-schedule earned-value project control system by March 1, 2000.
F. A budget for NIF that fully describes how the NNSA intends to pay for NIF over the out years and what the potential for other impacts on the stockpile stewardship program will be.
The conferees remain concerned about the Department's proposed budget increase and schedule delay for the NIF at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The conferees believe that previously the Department of Energy, and most recently the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), may have failed to examine adequately options for NIF that have fewer than the full 192 beams. For example, a preferred course for NIF may be to complete 48 or 96 beams as soon as possible (although block procurement of infrastructure and glass may be considered), bring the reduced NIF into operation, perform the necessary scientific and technical tests to evaluate whether a full NIF will work and its impact on stockpile stewardship, and then develop a path forward for NIF that balances its scientific importance within the overall needs of the stockpile stewardship program. To move on this path in fiscal year 2001, the conferees recommend that $199,100,000 be appropriated for NIF as follows: $74,100, 000 as originally proposed for Project 96-D-111, $40,000,000 from NIF operations funding within the budget request for LLNL, $25,000,000 to be identified within the budget request at LLNL, plus an additional $60,000,000 in new appropriations.
Furthermore, the conferees direct the Administration to prepare
a budget request for fiscal year 2002 that fully reflects a balanced
set of programs and investments within the stockpile stewardship
program, and that the overall budget profile over the next eight
years will accommodate a $3.4 billion NIF along with the other
critical aspects of the program.
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