| Urenco Receives Licence for National Enrichment Facility, New Mexio | | Print | |
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Urenco received licence approval on 23 June to construct and operate the National Enrichment Facility (NEF from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Site will be located in Lea County in New Mexico, USA. The NEF plant is strategically important for Urenco as it will create a production platform in the United States, Urenco's largest single market. Confirmation of the NEF licence is the latest expansion project announced by Urenco which has invested to support capacity increases at all of its European sites to meet the company's growing order book. The US order book for the new facility has now exceeded €2.5 billion. Urenco's strong market position is driven by customer appreciation of Urenco as a reliable long-term supplier and also recognition that Urenco's centrifuge technology is the preferred option of new build uranium enrichment plants. Urenco is the 100% owner of the NEF through its subsidiary Louisiana Energy Services LP. Now that the NRC licence is in place it is anticipated that the Urenco Board will approve the launch of the project allowing groundbreaking to take place in August 2006. Thereafter construction activities will include selection of the civil and structural construction suppliers as well as the completion of initial site preparation. The NEF will provide US utilities with diversity of supply as Urenco will become the second domestic supplier with a significant market share. US utilities have continued to demonstrate their support for the NEF with firm contractual commitments in place. The NEF project will provide more than 210 permanent jobs and over 1,000 multi-year construction positions in southeast New Mexico for the duration of the construction phase. First production from the NEF facility is expected in late 2008. The news was welcomed by Helmut Engelbrecht, Urenco CEO who said, "This licence plays a crucial role in Urenco's strategy to invest in long-term capacity to support our growing and diversified customer base. The NEF site in New Mexico will ensure security of supply to the US market and bring a $1.5 billion investment into the local area. This is of similar size to the investment made in Urenco's European sites over the last 5 years". Jim Ferland, President of the NEF said, "Today the NEF became the first major commercial nuclear facility to be licensed in 30 years. This is a historic and remarkable achievement for our company, for the nuclear industry as a whole, and for the citizens of New Mexico, and Lea County specifically who have supported the NEF during the licence process". |
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