US National Compact Stellarator Experiment Cancelled

I suppose this is neither inevitable nor surprising. The National Compact Stellerator at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has been shut down, mainly due to cost overruns and delays.

"In late 2006, it became clear that NCSX construction project would not be able to meet its approved baseline total project cost of $102M or its completion date of July 2009," said Under Secretary for Science Raymond Orbach in a statement. Since then the DOE, Princeton University, and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have been reviewing their options for the project and PPPL. They concluded that "the budget increases, schedule delays and continuing uncertainties of the NCSX construction project necessitate its closure," said Orbach. The new proposed cost for NCSX was $170 million with an August 2013 start date, which would have put research at PPPL in peril said an April 2008 Office of Science report.

Zz.