We’d like to bring your attention to this article from KIDK.com (the local Idaho Falls television station), which talks about how Idaho Falls is weathering the current economic storm. The article, which is mostly about businesses in the Idaho Falls region, points out at the very end that AREVA’s planned Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility is bringing new hope to the region:

The biggest change our area will see will be the arrival of Areva and their multi-billion dollar uranium enrichment facility.

Not only will the company hire locals or bring in new jobs that will stimulate our local economy, a very hurting construction industry will be major benefactors of the company. [. . .]

Areva is likely to bring between 800 and 1,000 construction jobs alone. And once the facility is running, more than 300 jobs will be created.

That’s the kind of thing that can really help a local economy… because the money paid to the people who work those 800-1,000 construction jobs, and the 300+ permanent jobs, will keep circulating around the Idaho Falls region as the employees patronize local businesses and services. Idaho Falls is just one community that’s finding new vitality in the green jobs of the nuclear renaissance.

A recent Clean Skies TV report tackled the question that many nuclear opponents see as the downside to the reliable, CO2-free energy produce by nuclear power plants; What about the cost?

The report by Tyler Suiters explores how the new nuclear power plants are not necessarily a burden to the taxpayer, but a benefit to the energy ratepayer.

Watch the clip (starting at 23:10) as he looks at the current builds and what it will take to get a new nuclear power plant built in the United States. A large factor to support these new builds will be a strong industrial base. As the report shows, AREVA is already making bold moves in the United States with two projects to meet this demand. AREVA Newport News LLC, which broke ground at this July, will manufacture the heavy components for necessary for new EPR™ reactors. AREVA is also actively working on the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility, a state-of-the-art centrifuge enrichment plant to meet the current U.S. nuclear energy demands.

Here’s more information about AREVA Newport News LLC and the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility.

UVAToday, a University of Virginia publication, includes a feature on the partnership between its School of Engineering and Applied Science and AREVA. The partnership includes dedicated funding for educational and research programs, and provides an excellent opportunity for tomorrow’s engineers to gain practical experience today in the field of nuclear engineering.

AREVA, a global nuclear energy company headquartered in Paris, with a facility in Lynchburg, represents an important corporate partner to the Engineering School. The company has been a champion of an undergraduate engineering distance-learning program, Engineers PRODUCED in Virginia, since its creation in 2007.

The program began taking shape in 2006 when AREVA foresaw the need for more engineers to meet the demands of the emerging nuclear renaissance in the United States. This renaissance–and need for engineers–includes the AREVA Newport News facility, development of the Clean Energy Park in Ohio, and the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility in Idaho.

Engineers PRODUCED in Virginia is one solution to the shortage. At varying levels, AREVA is now sponsoring more than 40 students in the program, offering mentorships, paying tuition and book costs and offering employment to graduates. The company also allows flex-time to its current employees so they can complete the program while working.

Jacob Bumgarner, currently enrolled in the program online as a University of Virginia student and an AREVA engineering intern, comments:

This program has allowed me to continue living at home, while working and earning an engineering degree from one of the most prestigious schools in the country. I am also lucky enough to be sponsored by AREVA, so I am able to learn something from school, and then come to work and actually see how it is used.

Here’s the full article from UVAToday.

AREVA’s proposed Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility under development near Idaho Falls, Idaho has been chosen as one of Site Selection magazine’s Top Projects of 2008. The company selected the site, about 18 miles west of Idaho Falls in May 2008. In December, AREVA submitted a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build the facility valued at over $2 billion. The project is expected to bring approximately 1,000 jobs during the construction phase and some 300 permanent jobs during operations.

Site Selection said the criteria were determined by “level of capital investment, degree of high-value jobs, creativity in negotiations and incentives, regional economic impact, competition for the project and speed to market.”

AREVA put forth its plan to establish this facility in the U.S. in May 2007 before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the race was on. From an initial 200 sites the company’s team, led by Sam Shakir, general manager, strategic enrichment, used its “multi-attribute utility analysis” matrix of 39 technical, environmental, operational, and economic criteria to winnow the number of finalists to 10 sites in six states, including New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.*

Central to the deal were Grow Idaho Falls Inc., the Eastern Idaho Economic Development Partnership, the Regional Development Alliance and the Idaho Dept. of Commerce, as well as the indirect influence of the Idaho National Laboratory. …

“One thing we saw was a complete alignment between state and local government and their federal representatives here in Washington,” Shakir told Site Selection.

*Shakir is now president of AREVA Enrichment Services, the subsidiary devoted to development of the facility.

We’ve seen some questions floating around recently – most notably by Idaho Samizdat – about AREVA Enrichment Services’ recent submission for a revision of its license application to the Nuclear Regulation Commission for the possibility to increase facility capacity. As noted yesterday, AES has requested an increase in the future licensed capacity of the Eagle Rock facility from 3.3 million separative work units (SWU) to 6.6 million SWU per year. We’d like to take this chance to explain why we’re doing this.

Quite frankly, our plans have not changed. We still intend to build a 3.3 million SWU facility. As AREVA indicated before, the plant can be expanded if market conditions favor such expansion. The expansion decision will be made in the future based on the conditions at the time. Having said that, however we have higher level of confidence in new reactor construction in the U.S. and other parts of the world, which will contribute to higher demand for enrichment. To be ready for such possibility, and to reduce time and cost for both the NRC and AREVA we decided to apply for a license for a larger facility so in case AREVA decides to expand, it would be able to so without further licensing.

The decision to leave open the possibility of expansion demonstrates our confidence in the revival of the U.S. nuclear energy sector and our commitment to making this revival a reality. We’re seeing a lot of promise in the nuclear market worldwide and we are taking the prudent steps to prepare for it.

Please don’t hesitate to comment if you’ve got any more questions… we’d be glad to answer them! This kind of dialogue is exactly what this blog is designed for.

Mayor's Youth Advisory Council

We previously blogged about inviting 20 Idaho students who were members of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council for a week long visit to France to AREVA headquarters and to tour our Georges Besse II uranium enrichment facility, which is similar to the facility we’re planning at Eagle Rock near Idaho Falls.

We wanted the students to have a first hand experience of what is being planned for their community and to get their feedback. The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council just releaed their own report from the trip and as student Ericka Gianotto wrote:

“We’re going to be able to go back into our schools and to the community and explain what’s coming and here’s what’s not, because it’s important for the students of our schools to realize we’re not going to be having nuclear reactors, we’re not going to have water towers, and here’s what it does and what it’s going to look like and what it plays a major role in the nuclear fuel cycle.”

Here are some more excerpts from their report:

This facility is nearly identical to the proposed Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility, with a few minor differences. For example, the Eagle Rock facility will have slightly lower air emissions, slightly lower water consumption and include a sloped roof while the Georges Besse II facility has a flat roof. These minor differences, however, will make the Eagle Rock facility an even more environmentally friendly plant….

Previous nuclear technologies did require large amounts of water. The centrifuge technology employed in this facilit y will not. The expected annual water usage of the Eagle Rock facility is comparable to the amount of water normally required to irrigate a golf course for a year, and is around one fiftieth that of the previously used enrichment technology….

The United States has a continually growing need for energy, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet this need. Some analysts are predict ing that by 2020, the United States will be unable to produce enough enriched uranium to meet its own demand for nuclear fuel. The Eagle Rock facility will be used to supply 25% of the needed enriched
uranium, and thus will decrease the amount of uranium that has to be imported, resulting in a more energy independent United States…
We would like to express the feeling of pride we have in our community, and how honored we are that all of the sites Areva was considering for this facility, they chose Idaho Falls.

We urge anyone with questions about this plant and anything related to it to feel free to ask any member of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council. We are excited about both the direct and indirect positive impacts this project will have on our community and hope that you share our enthusiasm and support for this project.

You can see the whole report here...

Mayor's Youth Advisory Council of Idaho Falls (click to enlarge)

The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council of Idaho Falls had a full day Monday of scientific and cultural experiences near Avignon, France. The students toured and learned about the advanced technology under construction at AREVA’s George Besse II enrichment facility. This facility uses the same centrifuge technology that AREVA plans to bring to Idaho Falls at the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility.

Following the facility tour, local high school students and the mayor of local Pierrelatte welcomed the Advisory Council and Idaho Falls Mayor Jared Fuhriman as an opportunity for cultural exchange and their shared investment in the future of nuclear energy. Both acknowledged the importance of the students understanding enrichment technology and its positive impact on their community.

Mayor Yves Le Bellec of Pierrelatte said: “it was a good day for the city, AREVA, and for the future of the project with the presence of the young adults.” Mayor Fuhriman also commented how much the students had taken away from the day’s events and how much they learned about the science of enrichment. “As a result, I am even more confident in AREVA’s Eagle Rock facility coming to our community,” Fuhriman said.

The nuclear energy industry is not unique in its ability to apply for loan guarantees. The federal government has decades of experience administering loan guarantees and other financial support for critical infrastructure projects. These projects span a broad array of industries from energy to shipbuilding to transportation to affordable housing. In fact, the $20.5 billion allocated for new nuclear energy facilities is less than 2 percent of the government managed loan guarantee portfolio, which exceeds $1 trillion. (This includes $18.5 billion for new nuclear power plants and $2 billion for fuel cycle facilities, such as enrichment plants.)

Loan guarantees do not represent a subsidy, let alone free money to the nuclear industry as some claim. The loan guarantee program is self-financing, requiring the companies that seek the guarantees to pay all costs to the government for providing them. A well managed loan guarantee program will cost tax payers nothing and yet provide them with the benefits of affordable, emission-free electricity and reduce our reliance on imported sources of energy.

The loan guarantee program was created under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. It was created in direct response to the monumental energy challenges we face, in order to spur investment in “innovative technologies” that “avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.” The U.S. EPR™ reactors under consideration here in the United States would do just that, and we are gaining experience from the EPR reactors already under construction internationally. 

The interest in the U.S. government program has been tremendous, with DOE announcing applications for guarantees for 21 new reactors totaling $122 billion, more than six times the allotted amount.

Nuclear facilities are capital intensive projects, often requiring investments equaling half the market cap of the companies that seek to build them. Although nuclear power plants require more of an investment upfront, they have proven wise long-term investments because of low operating and maintenance costs. They also provide predictable revenue streams, not to mention clean and reliable baseload generation for electricity customers. Loan guarantees are essential to offset the disparity in scale between project size and company size. Such assurances also mitigate risks of charting the waters of licensing and regulatory processes which have been effectively revised but still could give pause to the investment community.

President Obama has expressed a clear goal to lift our country out of the current economic crisis and strengthen our position as leaders in the 21st century by way of a clean, green and more energy independent economy. The loan guarantees for nuclear energy reinforce this vision by encouraging investment in domestically produced energy, capable of helping the country tackle our ambitious climate goals and employ thousands of well-trained, well-paid Americans.

The NRC has completed its preliminary examination, the acceptance review, of the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility license application and will now begin the formal review process.

On March 12, 2009, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) officially notified AREVA Enrichment Services LLC (AES) that the NRC had completed its acceptance review of the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility License Application. AREVA is very pleased that the NRC found the License Application to be acceptable for formal review. It is early in the Licensing process and AREVA Enrichment Services is working diligently to prepare for the steps ahead.

The NRC will now docket the application and begin its technical review process. The next step will be the NRC’s issuance of an Order, which will offer an opportunity for a hearing, provide a schedule, and address several policy issues related to uranium enrichment facility licensing. The NRC Staff will develop two reports, the Safety Evaluation Report and Environmental Impact Statement, to document the conclusion of its review of the license application. The NRC Staff plans to complete these documents by August 2010.

Throughout the license application process, AREVA Enrichment Services will provide updates regarding the status of the EREF License Application.

3-D Plan of Eagle Rock Facility

The good news is AREVA’s Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility to be built in Idaho is three months ahead of schedule, and we aren’t slowing down. AREVA is gearing up to launch detailed design, procurement, and construction planning of the facility. Even better, it will create some 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in Idaho through the life of the project.

In addition, we should expect an impact of as much as $5 billion on the local economy, including the capital invested by AREVA during the construction and operation of this state-of-the-art gas centrifuge enrichment plant and the associated economic impacts, according to recent study by the Regional Development Alliance. While AREVA waits for the NRC to complete the review of our application, we will keep moving; opening an office in Idaho Falls and appointing three new executives to the team.

AREVA is trying very hard to bring vital operations for nuclear energy industry to the heart of the U.S., but we cannot do it alone. We hope that the Department of Energy recognizes how necessary the loan guarantee is for this project’s finance needs in the frozen credit market.