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.

The nuclear energy industry has not always been the most popular kid on the block—thanks in part to some gross misinformation that gets passed around. However, a recent piece by Corey Taule in the Idaho Falls Post Register factually addressed some inaccurate claims made by the Snake River Alliance about AREVA’s planned Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility. Taule argues that Alliance claims like “Uranium Enrichment—It’s About the Bomb!” and “Tell Your Neighbors—Uranium Enrichment is ‘an open road to a nuclear weapon,” will not be persuasive because, as Taule points out, “Eastern Idaho is pro-nuclear and educated about the issue.”

He points out that “America’s nuclear plants need enriched uranium to produce power. The concentration of U-235, the fissionable isotope in uranium, need to be increased from .07 percent to between 3 percent and 5 percent for use as a nuclear fuel. That’s where AREVA’s centrifuge process comes in,” and that Eagle Rock will not have the capacity to generate “weapons-grade fuel [that] generally comes in at about 85 percent.”

Answering the Alliance’s claims about depleted uranium disposal, he refers to the fact that “AREVA has said repeatedly it will not store depleted uranium on site. We live here. This is our backyard…So where will it go? Depleted uranium has commercial applications as tank armor and counterweights. As to the leftover, federal law requires the government accept depleted uranium with no commercial value.”

The Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility will have an estimated multi-billon dollar economic impact and create hundreds of jobs. It also will meet 25 percent of the nation’s critical enrichment needs, especially considering “that if the U.S. is serious about reducing carbon emissions, nuclear must become a greater part of the nation’s power portfolio. That means building more nuclear power plants. Some estimate that even after AREVA’s Eagle Rock facility comes online, America will still import 25 percent of its enriched uranium from Russia.”

The whole piece from Sunday October 25, “Watching the Watchdog,” is worth a read.

For more information about the planned Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility, the potential economic impact, U.S. enrichment needs, and AREVA’s commitments to sustainable development, safety and the environment, check here.

The concrete foundation is completed at the MOX facility. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

by Jarret Adams

With the second anniversary of construction work at MOX project in South Carolina, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) issued a press release announcing that it has launched some new media tools for keeping people up to speed on the project. The MOX project also has a new website.

The MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility will play an essential role in the nation’s nonproliferation efforts by converting surplus weapons-grade material into mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. In effect, the MOX project will permanently eliminate this material while providing a reliable source of fuel to produce CO2-free electricity for Americans.

“The progress made on the construction of the facility over the past two years brings us one step closer to eliminating surplus plutonium in a transparent and irreversible manner,” NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino said in a press release.

It’s also great to see NNSA using new social media; click here to follow NNSA news on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

As a reminder, you can also follow AREVA Inc. on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

By Laura Clise

On June 3, the U.S. State Department Global Partnerships Initiative, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and TED hosted TED@State, New Ideas for a Better world. TED is a non-profit organization dedicated to the spread of attitude-changing, life-changing, and world-changing ideas. TED@State brought together a diverse and dynamic group of speakers, but better than any notes I could provide, you can check out the actual footage from each speaker’s presentation on the TED website (available soon) and or and read a summary of the presented material on the TED Blog.

While the event was personally of interest to me (I have a passion for international development and my best friend from business school is currently working as an Acumen Fellow for TED@State speaker, Jacqueline Novogratz), my professional reason for attending TED@State was directly linked to the ongoing global dialogue regarding development, energy, and climate change.

Social media analyst Clay Shirky talked about the impact of the shifting media landscape, something with which AREVA is already familiar through the AREVA Blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin pages. Futurist and environmentalist Stewart Brand discussed the implications of increased urbanization and also the critical role that base-load nuclear energy must contribute to our low-carbon energy future. Acumen Fund CEO Jacqueline Novogratz talked about facilitating bottom up entrepreneurial solutions to poverty alleviation and noted that effective solutions start from the perspective of those her organization is trying to help. This mentality is akin to the way we develop the products and services that we offer. Economist Paul Collier talked about the importance of sustainable job creation, health, and clean government in post-conflict recovery. AREVA also believes that job creation is critical to economic vitality and will be hiring more than 700 people in North America this year. Finally, data visionary Hans Rosling provided a statistical argument for global convergence and talked as well about the importance of information and data transparency. AREVA has been committed to open communication and transparency since its inception in order to lift the veil of secrecy that used to shroud the nuclear energy industry.

The TED@State speakers articulated the complex geopolitical, social, cultural, and environmental contexts in which companies like AREVA are innovating solutions that meet the energy needs of development while at the same time taking into account implications for social and environmental impact.

Announced today – AREVA and USEC Inc. have signed an agreement to end their 7-year litigation concerning French enrichment services in the U.S. It also addresses USEC’s dumping allegations, which AREVA has always denied. This agreement allows AREVA to recover a sizable portion of the provisional duties deposited with the US Customs Service in connection with the dumping claim and all duties paid in connection with the additional claim of unfair subsidy practices. In addition, USEC will provide enrichment services for AREVA in 2009 and 2010. This is a win-win agreement for both parties.

Dumping is selling below the price considered at fair value. The production cost calculated by the US Department of Commerce for AREVA was above our actual cost. Accordingly, the DOC concluded that dumping had occurred.

The other claim was that AREVA received subsidies from the French state. AREVA demonstrated that this was not true. This particular case is now closed, and the duties deposited with the US Customs Services will be returned to AREVA.

As a major player in enrichment services for the U.S., AREVA is expanding its presence by filing a license application to build an enrichment facility in Idaho. The project, scheduled for completion in 2014, will bring enrichment services closer to AREVA’s U.S. customers, as well as more than $2 billion of investment in the state.

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.

Dan Yurman at Idaho Samizdat reprints an excellent editorial from Sunday’s Idaho Falls Post Register. The long and short of it is that it’s silly to pit one company against another when we’re talking about loan guarantees for future enrichment plants in the US… we need as many as we can get:

There are several idiotic debates under way at the moment — but pitting a uranium-processing plant in Idaho Falls against another proposed in Ohio has to top the list.

Watching the jockeying for $2 billion in federal loan guarantees makes for intriguing political theater. But it’s silly. The nation really needs both. . . .

Having three companies involved denies any one of them a chokehold on domestic fuel supply. It also provides a geographically dispersed network. . . .

This is no time for winner-takes-all politics. If Congress expands the loan-guarantee program, it does not mean more federal spending. It merely allows these companies to get financing more easily and cheaply.

We’d also like to add that these loan guarantees, in addition to costing the taxpayer nothing, would create jobs in the present for the folks who build the enrichment plants and in the long term, in steady, stable, community-supporting jobs in a high-tech and green industry.