Cold War Weapons Fuel Clean Energy for America

Cold War Weapons Fuel 'Clean' Energy for America

Apr 16 - Business Wire

The Megatons to Megawatts program has eliminated the equivalent of 12,000 nuclear warheads, USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU) announced today.

To date, 300 metric tons (MT) of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Russian nuclear warheads have been downblended to low enriched uranium (LEU) as part of this vital energy and nonproliferation program. America's commercial nuclear reactors use this LEU to generate about 10 percent of the country's electricity. The program is now 60 percent complete.

USEC, as executive agent for the U.S. government, implements the 20-year agreement with its Russian partner at no cost to U.S. taxpayers. By the program's completion in 2013, 500 MT of HEU, the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear warheads, will be downblended into LEU.

Through 2006, USEC has paid more than $4.6 billion to Russia. With annual purchases of more than $500 million, USEC expects to pay Russia more than the $7.6 billion in revenue guaranteed under the contract by the end of 2013. The price USEC pays Russia is set by a market-based pricing formula and will rise over the next several years since market prices have increased in recent years.

The LEU from the HEU downblended to date could be used to generate enough electricity to power a city the size of Boston or Seattle for more than 460 years.

USEC President and CEO John K. Welch said, "The Megatons to Megawatts program provides a solution to the legacy of the Cold War and has a profound effect on the world's safety and prosperity. This program is a success because of the hard work of the program's executive agents, other nuclear fuel cycle companies and USEC's customers who all play a role in this process of destroying weapons material while generating power for millions of Americans."

USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

This news release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that involve risks and uncertainty. Economic, business, market, regulatory, technology and other factors could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. More information about these factors is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which are available on our website www.usec.com. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements except as required by law.