USEC, TOSHIBA AND B&W SOLIDIFY ALLIANCE ON NEW ENRICHMENT
While the U.S. Nuclear Renaissance continues to move ahead cautiously on an uncertain path, efforts to advance U.S. uranium enrichment technology and capacity are clearly moving ahead.
Yesterday, USEC (the United States Enrichment Corporation) announced a strategic contribution from Babcock & Wilcox, the leading American construction corporation, and Toshiba, which owns the Westinghouse nuclear franchise. The $75 million investment will go toward construction of the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, the first U.S. enrichment facility to use advanced new centrifuge technology.
The partnership has the overtones of a global effort as well, since the rapid expansion of nuclear energy in Asia will require new enrichment capacity. "As energy needs grow around the world, we are very pleased to expand our role in the nuclear renaissance," said Yasuharu Igarashi, corporate senior vice president of Toshiba, in announcing the investment.
The agreement closes out the first phase of a $200 million investment plan to which the companies agreed last May. The $50 million phase 2 will be contingent on USEC securing a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The $75 million balance is also contingent on another federal loan guarantee.
American Centrifuge is regarded a key advance in the efficiencies of nuclear power. Critics often argue that although reactors produce no carbon emissions, the enrichment process is hugely energy intensive – and it does take the output of two 1,000-mw coal plants to run the gaseous diffusion enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky. The Piketon plant, however, will use 95 percent less electricity.
USEC is aligned with Duke Energy and UniStar in a partnership – the Southern Ohio Clean Energy Park Alliance – to build a nuclear plant at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Piketon complex.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:57 am
This is not the first plant in the US to use centrifuge technology. That would be Urenco in NM, which commenced operatoins on June 11, 2010. And I’m sure the Urenco plant could also reasonably describe itself and its technology as new and advanced.
The gaseous diffusion plant does not and did not directly use coal plants or any particular source of electricity – that is an anti-nuclear talking point.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:57 am
This is not the first plant in the US to use centrifuge technology. That would be Urenco in NM, which commenced operatoins on June 11, 2010. And I’m sure the Urenco plant could also reasonably describe itself and its technology as new and advanced.
The gaseous diffusion plant does not and did not directly use coal plants or any particular source of electricity – that is an anti-nuclear talking point.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:57 am
This is not the first plant in the US to use centrifuge technology. That would be Urenco in NM, which commenced operatoins on June 11, 2010. And I’m sure the Urenco plant could also reasonably describe itself and its technology as new and advanced.
The gaseous diffusion plant does not and did not directly use coal plants or any particular source of electricity – that is an anti-nuclear talking point.