Lockheed Martin is developing a new nuclear energy fusion method at their research facility in California.

Also in California, Bill Gates and another Microsoft ex have poured millions into a new fission reactor that can run on nuclear waste,

In China, scientists are working on a safer reactor based on thorium.

The above items from today'd NY Times.

Question:
How fast will these technologies develop? Will nuclear plants become the mass energy source of the future?

Can wind and solar power be agressively scaled up to meet energy demands?
In an article in the NY Times today, Justin Gillis, Science, it is stated that number-crunching leads many experts to believe that the present crop of possible renewables are not up to the task of meeting energy needs, perhaps not even half.
The article would lead one to believe that nuclear technology is the wave of the future.