Nuclear Power Revival Could Encounter Hurdles

Tight Uranium Supplies, Scarce Processing Facilities
May Hurt Bush Energy Plan

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration’s plan for a “renaissance” in nuclear power may be crimped by tightening world-wide supplies of uranium and a lack of enrichment facilities to turn the uranium into fuel for power plants.

In a recent setback, an accident in October flooded the world’s largest uranium mine, which was set to open in Canada next year. That nudged prices for processed uranium ore, already up more than 800% since 2001, even higher.

Meanwhile, enrichment facilities, which turn uranium into fuel for nuclear power plants, have already pledged their services because of growing interest in nuclear fuel by other countries. The result is that the U.S. is relying more than before on Russia, which provides about half the enriched nuclear fuel used in this country.

Uranium is extracted from mines and processed into a form called “yellowcake.” The yellowcake, in turn, is processed at enrichment plants, into fuel for nuclear-power plants. A far more time-consuming process is required to turn yellowcake into fuel for nuclear weapons.

Wall St. Journal