I'm not seeing much in there for GLE?Hope I'm wrong, but I didn't like this bit, end reliance on foreign uranium enrichment capabilities.The Administration supports actions associated with the timeline that will provide funding for a competitive procurement for U.S. uranium mining, conversion services, in the very near term, as reflected in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 President’s Budget, and will also consider enrichment needs after first addressing the existing pressure on the uranium mining sector. The Department of Energy believes that a 10-year timeline reflects a responsible approach to addressing the challenges facing the front-end of the fuel cycle.
The Administration will evaluate the impacts of the reserve and other policy measures to inform next steps within the proposed 10-year timeline. Factors that will be considered include status and conditions in other sectors of the front-end of the fuel supply, such as enrichment, as well as implications for other parts of the nuclear industry. For example, expansion of the existing American Assured Fuel Supply (AAFS), and merging it with the new Uranium Reserve to establish a unified reserve could be considered. The AAFS currently contains enough uranium for six reactor core reloads and a modified version could increase the number of reactor fuel reloads of enriched uranium substantially and could require those loads to contain a percentage of unobligated uranium, meaning uranium that is free of peaceful use restrictions established through international agreements. Further consideration to the evolving market needs, based on next-generation fuel and advanced reactor deployment would be also considered in any such action.
A decision to expand the currently proposed uranium reserve will be made based on a variety of factors, including cost, impact, need, and on-the-ground conditions. The ultimate goal of the Administration’s actions is to create an appropriate safeguard for the United States and our allies against unfair market intervention by foreign states or other disruption and provide a source of unobligated uranium for strategic purposes in a manner that is in the best interest of the taxpayer.
Any potential expansion of the currently proposed uranium reserve to include enriched uranium or an expansion of the AAFS could require the procurement of the equivalent of about 24 additional large light-water reactor reloads of enriched uranium, with the following estimated scale of services to be procured and commencement dates:
- Mined and milled uranium estimated between 17 and 19 million pounds in the form of U3O8, beginning in 2020;
- Domestic conversion services resulting in about 6,000 to 7,500 tons of UF6, beginning no later than 2022; and
- Domestic enrichment services beginning possibly in the 2023 timeframe, of which 25% would be unobligated.
Some ATF designs and advanced reactors under development will require fuels with higher enrichment levels. DOE is currently conducting a three-year $115 million demonstration of HALEU production using U.S.-origin enrichment technology, which can be adopted by the private sector for commercialization and deployment after the three-year period, should the demonstration be successful and demand materialize. DOE will continue and successfully complete its HALEU demonstration program by 2022 to ensure that a technology is proven. DOE will also support HALEU infrastructure research and development to ensure that HALEU facilities and equipment are quickly licensed.
First, the U.S. Government will take bold action to revive and strengthen the uranium mining industry, support uranium conversion services,
end reliance on foreign uranium enrichment capabilities, and sustain the current fleet, removing strategic vulnerabilities across the nuclear fuel cycle and restoring a world-class workforce to provide benefits to the U.S. and to compete in the international market.
Next, the U.S. Government will leverage American technological innovation and advanced nuclear Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) investments to accelerate technical advances and regain American nuclear energy leadership.
Finally, the U.S. Government will move into markets currently dominated by Russian and Chinese State Owned Enterprises (SOE) and recover our position as the world leader in exporting best-in-class nuclear energy technology, and with it, strong non-proliferation standards. We will restore American nuclear credibility and demonstrate American commitment to competing in contested markets and repositioning America as the responsible nuclear energy partner of choice.
The Nuclear Fuel Working Group recognizes the importance of taking focused, deliberate action to prevent the near-term collapse of the domestic uranium mining, milling, and conversion industries and the need to support US strategic fuel cycle capabilities. This strategy includes concrete actions that the Administration has already taken through its Fiscal Year 2021 Budget that demonstrate its commitment to these principles as well as recommendations for additional action that can be used by the Administration to inform future policy decisions. Any recommendations in this strategy beyond those already reflected
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