Livermore, Alameda lose new $1 billion nuclear fusion site to Albuquerque

Following a months-long search for a new billion nuclear fusion site Fremont-based strength startup company Pacific Fusion disclosed the winner is Albuquerque New Mexico which beat out Bay Area bids from both Livermore and Alameda Pacific Fusion s mission is to be using fusion the process of smashing two atoms together to produce potential as a renewable potency source by Fusion the same process which powers the sun is the opposition of nuclear fission which is the process of splitting an atom to generate potential Commercializing fusion resource will require the best talent from both states Keith LeChien Pacific Fusion s co-founder and chief hardware officer commented in a announcement Monday California and New Mexico will share in that success as we continue to expand our operations while we build The city of Albuquerque declared in a comment that local and state functionaries offered the company a total of million upfront in economic progress and incentive funds as well as a million bond package that essentially give the company a -year property tax break Livermore and Alameda executives unsuccessfully offered their own tax incentive packages In Alameda personnel also offered a purchase option for a -acre plot of prime undeveloped real estate on the city s Alameda Point island home to the former Naval Air Station Livermore boasted of close proximity to expert scientists and support at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that previously shook up the nuclear science world in when they used fusion to recreate the power of the sun a world first But none of this was enough to woo Pacific Fusion to the Tri-Valley or the East Bay in the face of massive society funding promised to the company by New Mexico executives and the cost of living and doing business in California according to leaders in both Bay Area contenders Livermore Mayor John Marchand reported in an interview Monday that the general funds New Mexico offered to Pacific Fusion was something that the company board couldn t walk away from That s something that Livermore has no control over Marchand disclosed Of unit I m disappointed but it wasn t for any lack of effort on our part Marchand revealed he still has high hopes for his city s tech future I think that if fusion emission is going to succeed it s going to be here in Livermore because we were the first place to achieve it he commented He added that his city learned how to better streamline certain processes to help businesses move into Livermore faster over the last several months and that in that regard we won I think Livermore is better for having gone through this exercise Marchand reported We did the best we possibly could Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft announced she largely blamed the state s housing costs for driving the potential startup to Albuquerque where single-family homes can be had for We know that we did everything right and the thing we could have done better we were stated is it did come done to the cost of living Ezzy Ashcraft noted in an interview We had a feeling all along that if we didn t get them to come to Alameda we were going to lose them to another state not another place in California Even still Ezzy Ashcraft mentioned she expects Alameda Point will soon find a new business to develop the site Pacific Fusion passed up on though she declined to share if any businesses were in line yet Trust me there is lots of interest in Alameda Point and other different locations We re going to keep doing what we re doing It s just a matter of so numerous other factors that a company has to consider Ezzy Ashcraft disclosed They say one door closes and another door opens and I truly believe that