The Department of Energy and USEC have less than two weeks before the end of enrichment operations at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant unless they are able to broker a much-anticipated extension to a reenrichment deal, but at least one utility last week said it was not interested in prolonging the program. The plant is currently running under a one-year program to re-enrich a portion of the Departments stockpile of depleted uranium tails with utilities the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Bonneville Power Administration and Energy Northwest. That program will finish at the end of the month, and while USEC and DOE officials have said that they are working on an extension of several months, so far none has emerged.
Energy Northwest is using much of the uranium in the current deal to power its Columbia Generating Station from 2021 to 2028. However the utility said Friday that it has no need for additional enriched uranium at this time. While Energy Northwest had considered an extension, spokeswoman Rochelle Olson said, "Our one-year agreement secured our fuel needs through 2028 and we have determined that an extension is not in the best interest of the agency at this time."
