March 17, 2014

DOE LOOKS TO REACH AGREEMENT ON PADUCAH PLANT IN 30 DAYS

By ExchangeMonitor

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu told Republican members of Kentucky’s Congressional delegation late last week that he plans to develop an agreement within 30 days on the future of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Ed Whitfield had sought the meeting, held March 9, amid growing concerns that the Paducah plant may cease operation—a move that could result in the loss of up to 1,200 jobs. Plant operator USEC has said that it would decide later this spring whether or not to keep the Paducah plant in operation—a decision the company has said would be based, in part, on whether DOE agrees to implement a program to re-enrich a portion of its inventory of depleted uranium tails at the plant and whether it can re-negotiate a favorable power contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

During last week’s meeting, Chu laid out “multiple short-term options” and agreed that DOE could move forward under its own authority to pursue a tails re-enrichment program “with the market analysis of the domestic uranium mining, conversion, and enrichment industries needing to be completed immediately,” a joint statement from the three lawmakers says. “Although our meeting today did not provide the ultimate answers everyone at the plant is anxious to hear, we are pleased with the assurances by the Administration that they will now fully engage with all stakeholders to find a solution. As operator of the enrichment facility, we expect USEC also will work with DOE to find a way to extend these jobs. And, going forward, we await DOE’s long-term plans for the Paducah site,” the statement says.

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