DOE-USEC Loan Guarantee Decision Shows Danger of Government Dependence
Nicolas Loris /
In what chief executive John K. Welch called “shocking and disappointing,” the Department of Energy denied USEC’s request for $2 billion in loan guarantees for a new uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio.
But should anyone really be surprised? The fact is that government policymakers have been dictating the future of nuclear power for decades. And this decision shows exactly why the nuclear industry should not put its future in the hands of Washington.
America’s nuclear plants will need to be fueled with enriched uranium, and the U.S. has very limited uranium enrichment capabilities. But that is about to change. While America’s limited domestic enrichment is currently provided by USEC’s plant in Paducah, Kentucky, the company invested $1.5 billion to build a new $3.5 billion plant in Ohio. USEC initially estimated that the American Centrifuge Project would create 3,300 jobs in Ohio, as well as an additional 3,000 direct and indirect jobs for USEC’s suppliers to expand appropriately to manufacture the centrifuge machine parts.