Congressional inaction on a highway bill may have temporarily tied up $106 million for research at the American Centrifuge Plant, but USEC said Friday it remains committed to the project.
The Department of Energy had asked for the authority to transfer the money in language attached to a long-term transportation bill. Legislative gridlock resulted in only a three-month stopgap bill Thursday that left out the provision that would have allowed DOE to transfer the money from its existing 2012 budget.
“The USEC board of directors is closely monitoring efforts to obtain the federal cost share for 2012. Given the progress made to date, along the legislative and non-legislative paths towards obtaining funding, the board has authorized continued, limited spending in support of the RD&D program,” USEC CEO John K. Welch said in a release.
The research project is a temporary reprieve for the plant in Piketon, Ohio, where construction stalled last fall following three years of unsuccessful negotiations for a $2 billion DOE loan guarantee. While the company continues to seek that funding, limited work continues under a $44 million research, development and demonstration (RD&D) program that USEC said will only last until the end of May without further federal funding. The research, which USEC said supports 2,000 jobs, involves construction of a single 120-machine cascade using the company’s centrifuge uranium enrichment technology.
In addition to the 2012 funds transfer currently in limbo, DOE has asked for an appropriation of $150 million to continue the project in fiscal year 2013.