Lack of fuel may limit U.S. nuclear renaissance – MIT

Limited supplies of uranium fuel for nuclear power plants may thwart the renewed and growing interest in nuclear energy in the United States and other nations, according to an industry expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Over the past 20 years, none of the nation’s utilities has ordered a new reactor and there has been little investment in new uranium mines or facilities to produce fuel for existing reactors due to safety concerns.

Instead, the industry has lived off commercial and government inventories, which are nearly gone. Uranium production worldwide meets only about 65 percent of current reactor requirements.

Reuters