Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle

While chances have slimmed for Congressional support for a Department of Energy R&D program for USEC’s centrifuge plant fir this fiscal year, Hill staff say DOE could keep the program alive by taking on additional uranium tails liability from the company. Supporters of the project had hoped that the payroll tax extension legislation passed Friday […]

In an apparent effort to keep the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in operation, the Department of Energy has quietly begun discussions in recent weeks with two federal utilities on a program to re-enrich a portion of DOE’s inventory of depleted uranium tails. Details on a potential agreement that would involve the Tennessee Valley Authority, the […]

Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.), the ranking member of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, said yesterday that  he had “very serious reservations” about the Obama Administration’s request for $150 million for R&D efforts at USEC’s American Centrifuge Project included within the National Nuclear Security Administration’s FY 2013 budget request. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu […]

The Nuclear Energy Institute has come out in support of a legislative proposal to require the Department of Energy to establish a pilot program to re-enrich a portion of its inventory of depleted uranium hexafluoride tails, with the proceeds from the sale of the re-enriched material to be used for cleanup activities. “This bill provides […]

Members of Ohio’s Congressional delegation announced over the weekend that they plan to introduce legislation that would pave the way for $150 million in R&D funding for USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant through a combination of reprogramming funds and selling uranium tails. USEC warned it may have to demobilize the Ohio project if it does not […]

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled a markup for Jan. 18 on the “Energy and Revenue Enrichment Act,” which was authored by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and would require the Department of Energy to establish a pilot program to re-enrich a portion of its inventory of depleted uranium hexafluoride tails. The proceeds from […]

Nuclear Fuel Services yesterday contained a nitric acid leak in an outdoor bulk chemical storage area at its Erwin, Tenn., facility, which has been placed in “safe shutdown” mode. The Greenville (Tenn.) Sun has the story here.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has cancelled a markup that was scheduled to be held next week on a bill sponsored by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) that would require the Department of Energy to establish a pilot program to re-enrich a portion of its inventory of depleted uranium hexafluoride tails. As a result, the […]

USEC has worked out a plan with the Department of Energy to provide access to short-term funding for the American Centrifuge plant, which the company says is needed to keep the project moving forward. The move is essentially an accounting maneuver, with DOE agreeing to assume liability for $44 million of USEC’s uranium tails in […]

Reacting to a plan in which USEC would provide low-enriched uranium to the Department of Energy for tritium production as part of a short-term lifeline for its proposed centrifuge enrichment plant, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is asking DOE to drop support for the company. “I believe that this support is unlikely to result in the […]

USEC emphasized uncertainty in the future of the American Centrifuge project in an earnings statement Friday, warning that a project demobilization could be in the works if funding questions are not resolved soon. In late October, the Company announced it was shifting its discussions with the Department of Energy for funding the enrichment plant, focusing […]

The cost for LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky, LLC, to complete its scope of cleanup work at the Paducah site has increased, though by how much is unclear. Last week, the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office said in a written response that LATA Kentucky’s contract is currently valued at $299 million, an increase of […]

A Government Accountability Office report made public yesterday found several shortcomings in the Department of Energy’s fuel cycle research and development plan. “DOE has taken a systematic approach to planning for the complex, scientifically challenging process of identifying and selecting sustainable nuclear fuel cycle options and associated technologies by 2020 and demonstrating them by 2050,” […]

International Isotopes showed sequential growth for the third quarter of 2011, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week, adding up to what the company said is its strongest nine-month revenue performance in company history. However, INIS continues to run a net loss while it waits for further financing and NRC […]

USEC’s announcement earlier this month that it may cease operations at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant next spring is worrying Department of Energy officials who had originally anticipated that the plant would be shut down around 2020. USEC noted in a financial filing that it will stop operations at the DOE-owned plant at the end […]

With the Department of Energy and USEC having wrapped up the final transfer of facilities at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant for inclusion in the D&D project at the site, DOE site manager William Murphie had nothing but positive things to say about the process late last week. “I personally think it went better than […]

The Department of Energy plans to enter into talks with B&W Conversion Services, LLC, the operating contractor for DOE’s depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion plants, to accelerate efforts to get the plants operating at their designed throughput. While B&WCS currently plans to have the plants operating at a steady state commercial-scale rate by the end […]

USEC appears to be acknowledging that a Department of Energy loan guarantee for the company’s American Centrifuge Plant is not forthcoming, saying a statement Friday that it is shifting its focus to discussions with DOE on a cost-share R&D project that would further develop the American Centrifuge technology and avoid further demobilization of the project. […]

USEC appears to be acknowledging that a Department of Energy loan guarantee for the company’s American Centrifuge Plant is not forthcoming, saying a statement Friday that it is shifting its focus to discussions with DOE on a cost-share R&D project that would further develop the American Centrifuge technology and avoid further demobilization of the project. […]

In an effort to get a cost-share R&D program for USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant off the ground as soon as possible, the Department of Energy plans to request permission from Congress to transfer $150 million to the project in FY 2012. “To pay for the federal portion of the project, DOE intends to submit a […]

While USEC has warned that its American Centrifuge Project would face layoffs and a suspension of work without additional funding by Nov. 1, investors Babcock and Wilcox and Toshiba have agreed to once again extend an investment deadline, this time to Jan. 15. "Any decision regarding continued spending or demobilizing the project will be evaluated […]

Although Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC, saw a drop in fee for its work at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Fiscal Year 2013, the contractor is currently on track for “excellent performance” this fiscal year, according to FBP Site Project Director Dennis Carr. 

A group of 12 lawmakers this week expressed concern about the impact on the uranium mining industry of the Department of Energy’s Excess Uranium Inventory Management Plan.

B&W Conversion Services, LLC, the managing contractor for the Department of Energy’s two depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion plants, earned approximately 66 percent of the total fee available for Fiscal Year 2013—$2.93 million out of $4.44 million, according to information DOE released this week. 

The Department of Energy plans to make a decision within the next 60 days on whether it will combine the infrastructure support services contracts at the Portsmouth and Paducah sites into one new contract, DOE spokesman Bill Taylor said this week.