The US nuclear power industry remains critically dependent on Russian uranium. The New York Times writes about it.
According to media reports, despite the desire of the United States to sever economic ties with Russia due to hostilities in Ukraine, Washington continues to buy enriched uranium from Moscow. According to the newspaper’s estimates, American companies pay the Russian side about $1 billion for the fuel that generates more than half of the US’ non-emission energy.
As the US wants to reduce the use of fossil fuels, the country’s dependence on nuclear power will continue to grow, the media adds.
The publication clarifies that about a third of the enriched uranium used in the United States is imported from Russia, the rest from European countries. Currently, American companies do not enrich uranium, only the European consortium Urenco, which has a facility in Ohio, does this. The consortium believes that it will take more than a decade to produce enough uranium in the US, and this dependence makes US nuclear power plants vulnerable to Russia’s possible cessation of uranium sales. Building a new supply chain will take years and significantly more public funding than is available.
According to official US data, in January-October 2022, the Russian Federation supplied enriched uranium worth $644 million to the States, the Netherlands – $569 million, Germany – $527 million, and the UK – $482 million.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
