BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2007--The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) today issued a construction and operating license for USEC Inc.'s (NYSE:USU) American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio. The license is the culmination of a two-and-a-half year process that included comprehensive environmental and safety reviews.
"Americans are beginning to fully appreciate the benefits of nuclear power, which safely and cleanly generates about 20 percent of our electricity with no greenhouse gas emissions. With plans underway for more than 30 new reactors around the country, a stable, domestic source of enriched uranium is vital," said John K. Welch, USEC president and chief executive officer. "Utilities should also be encouraged by the NRC process for reviewing the American Centrifuge Plant license as they prepare to move forward with their own licensing efforts for new nuclear reactors.
"The American Centrifuge Plant will provide a long-term, reliable, competitive fuel source for the United States and for the world's growing number of nuclear power plants. As the only uranium enrichment facility using U.S. centrifuge technology, the American Centrifuge Plant will play a major role in America's energy security and energy independence," Welch said.
The American Centrifuge Plant is only the second major nuclear facility to be licensed by the NRC in the past three decades under the NRC's licensing process for uranium enrichment facilities. The license, which is good for 30 years, includes authorization to enrich uranium up to an assay level of 10 percent U235. Enrichment is the process by which the concentration of the fissionable uranium isotope is increased in order to make fuel for nuclear power plants.
Receiving the construction and operating license represents a critical step in the deployment of the American Centrifuge Plant. USEC expects to operate a Lead Cascade of centrifuge machines in the American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility by mid-2007. The Company is working toward beginning commercial plant operations in late 2009 and having approximately 11,500 machines deployed in 2012, which would provide about 3.8 million separative work units (SWU) of production based on current estimates of machine output and plant availability.
The American Centrifuge technology is modular by design and plant output can be expanded as the use of nuclear power increases. The NRC's May 2006 Environmental Impact Statement evaluated the modular expansion of the plant to about double its production capability. The American Centrifuge Plant will employ over 400 people at the plant site in Piketon and create hundreds of additional highly skilled manufacturing jobs in the United States.
The American Centrifuge Plant should offer substantial production cost savings compared to USEC's existing gaseous diffusion enrichment technology. USEC operates the only uranium enrichment facility in the United States - a gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Ky. The American Centrifuge Plant is expected to use 95 percent less electricity than a comparably sized gaseous diffusion plant.
The American Centrifuge Plant will use U.S. gas centrifuge technology based on a design originally developed by the U.S. Department of Energy but with design, material and manufacturing improvements. USEC has been testing and manufacturing individual machine components at its facilities in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
This document contains "forward-looking statements" - that is, statements related to future events. In this context, forward-looking statements may address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "will" and other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For USEC, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the success of the demonstration and deployment of our American Centrifuge technology including our ability to meet our target cost estimate and schedule for the American Centrifuge Plant and our ability to secure required external financial support; pricing trends in the uranium and enrichment markets; changes to, or termination of, our contracts with the U.S. government and changes in U.S. government priorities and the availability of government funding; the competitive environment for our products and services; changes in the nuclear energy industry; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly Form 10-Qs. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements except as required by law.
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SOURCE: USEC Inc.