French energy group Areva has entered tentative talks with
the Tennessee Valley Authority that could pave the way for TVA’s nuclear plants
to use fuel made from retired weapons.
On Friday, the company announced it signed a letter of
intent with TVA to initiate discussions on the use of fuel from the Department
of Energy’s Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. While it would not obligate
TVA to use the fuel, the letter highlights the agency’s ongoing relationship
with DOE in evaluating the fuel-from-weapons program.
Scheduled to begin operating in 2016, the mixed-oxide
facility at DOE’s Savannah River site in South Carolina will blend plutonium
from disassembled weapons with depleted uranium oxide, according to the
National Nuclear Security Administration. Using the fuel in commercial reactors
would make the plutonium unfit for explosives and help meet a commitment made
by the United States and Russia in 2000 to dispose of 68 metric tons of surplus
plutonium. Shaw Areva MOX Services Llc. holds the contract to build and operate
the South Carolina facility.
“As the world leader in MOX fuel production, Areva has a
long, successful history of producing reliable mixed-oxide fuel in Europe and
has many satisfied customers around the globe. We look forward to partnering
with TVA as it evaluates the potential use of MOX fuel in its nuclear plants,”
Jacques Besnainou, CEO of Areva North America, said in a release.
According to NNSA, more than 30 commercial reactors
currently use mixed-oxide fuel, including at plants in the United Kingdom,
Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland.