Russia's dominance in the global nuclear fuel market presents another massive challenge for Washington, especially the liberal hawks in the Biden administration, who are trying to wean Western countries off Russian energy supplies.
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said President Biden is redoubling efforts to break the US reliance on Russian nuclear fuel, indicating domestic uranium-enrichment capacity could be increased with upcoming key legislation.
"We are going to get Congressional support in a bipartisan way for us to make our own fuel cycle supply chain independent, certainly of Russia," Granholm said in an interview at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Bloomberg quoted.
"We've got to make this happen for our own independence and national security," she continued.
Bringing on new capacity could take years. For instance, uranium extracted from mines to refine into fuel for nuclear reactors takes three to five years.
Russia controls about two-fifths of the global enrichment services market and supplies almost a quarter of the fuel for the US' 93 operational nuclear reactors. This is another chokepoint the US is trying to avoid.
Earlier this year, Washington banned imports of Russian fossil fuel products, though uranium wasn't part of the sanctions.
"We should not be sending any money to Russia for any American energy or for any other reason," Granholm said in May.
The Biden administration is working toward expanding a uranium supply chain to wean itself off Russian supplies though top congressional Democrats recently balked at Biden's $1.5 billion request in an upcoming budget bill to support domestic uranium enrichment programs.
"We need to signal that the US is committed to its own fuel supply as well as the conversion and enrichment components of the supply chain.
"This investment in our own supply chain is a critical piece of that," Granholm said in Vienna.
The American nuclear industry could soon see a resurgence since the Three Mile Island facility accident in 1979 sent it into a tailspin for decades if Granholm and the Biden administration can get funding.
She said the government would support the demand side rather than taking direct ownership stakes in facilities.
"We would be using the market to make sure this capability gets out," she added. "We would contract with facilities. The goal is to be independent as soon as possible."
Several nuclear fuel supply chain companies, including Honeywell International Inc., General Atomics, and Centrus Energy Corp., could benefit from atomic independence from Russia.
By Zerohedge.com
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In addition it boasts the world’s largest proven natural gas reserves accounting for 20% of the world’s total. Moreover, Russia’s Arctic is estimated to contain 13% of the earth’s remaining oil reserves and a quarter of its untapped gas reserves. Russia’s untapped and inexhaustible reserves of oil and gas at the Arctic are estimated at 125 billion barrels (bb) of oil and 3004-3534 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas. If these are added to Russia’s current proven reserves of oil and gas, the figures then mushroom to 233 bb of oil and 4324-4854 tcf lasting from 1-2 centuries.
Russia with such a great abundance of energy sources is bound, therefore, to have a great grip on the global economy well into the future particularly that fossil fuels will continue to drive the global economy throughout the 21st century and probably far beyond.. In fact I go as far as to say that one of the last three barrels of oil produced in the world will come from the Russian arctic: the other two from the Arab Gulf region and Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt.
Amid the escalating tension between the United States and Russia over the Ukraine conflict, it is very surprising to know that Russia supplies almost a quarter of the fuel for the US’’ 93 operational nuclear reactors. This poses a major challenge for the United States.
US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said President Biden is redoubling efforts to break the US reliance on Russian nuclear fuel, indicating expanding domestic uranium-enrichment capacity for the sake of US energy security and independence.
However, this is easy said than done. Bringing on new capacity could take years. For instance, uranium extracted from mines to refine into fuel for nuclear reactors takes three to five years.
Earlier this year, Washington banned imports of Russian fossil fuel products, though uranium wasn't part of the sanctions.
Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Global Energy Expert