[Copernicus]

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Riddick, ITER will cost around 8 billion to make. It will take 20 years to develop. Then they can start building plants to produce energy. Show me a project similar to ITER that has been accomplished in history using private funds.

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Are you serious? Dude, google "investment billion". You will see that private company investments in the billions-of-dollars range are being routinely made year in and year out in many industries. I mean, christ, pharmaceutical companies invest upwards of $40 billion before a dime is returned on it, which may not be for a decade or more on some drugs. Heck, even the Borgata cost $1 billion just to erect, and that's a casino! How many years did the process of building the billion-dollar-Borgata take before a dime on investment was returned?

The fact that ITER is costing an exorbitant $8 billion and taking 20 years to construct merely reflects an absence of any risk, any competitive pressure, any liability, or any real consequences of failure.

I also suspect a total lack of any remorse in that violent theft of $8 billion.

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And $8 billion is about 2.5% of one year of Exxons revenues. If Wacki doesnt think that a company will make that kind of investment to corner the market in a competitive technology he's.....Wacki!

Its even worse than saying an oil/gas/coal company wont spend money exploring to find new oil/gas/coal because it increases supply and more supply means lower prices, so its self-defeating. One of our former DoE geniuses came up with that one.