The United States depends on commercial nuclear reactors to generate electricity without polluting the air. One-fifth of our country’s electricity is generated by nuclear power plants, which rely on reliable uranium enrichment services.

1. Currently, the United States imports a significant percentage of its uranium enrichment services. Half of America’s uranium enrichment services come from the Megatons to-Megawatts program, formed through a treaty with Russia. This program converts the nuclear material into fuel that is used for a peaceful purpose: generating electricity. After this treaty expires in 2013, a major source of the country’s enriched uranium will be gone.
   
   
2. The nation’s first new nuclear power plants in more than three decades are anticipated to start operating as soon as 2015. These new plants will require reliable uranium enrichment services. Even without these new plants, there is a growing demand in the United States for the clean, emissions-free energy produced by nuclear power plants. The demand for enrichment services to fuel these plants will soon outpace supply.
   
   
3. Providing uranium enrichment services in the United States is critical to the nation’s energy independence and national security. The more enrichment services we can perform in America, the less dependent we will be in the future on services performed outside the country.
   
   
4. That’s why AREVA Inc. plans to build a U.S. enrichment plant– using proven ETC technology (see sidebar) – to help meet the country's projected demand for uranium enrichment services. The future plant will have a yearly production capacity of approximately 3 million SWU, with the possibility of expanding capacity if market conditions are favorable. (A SWU, or Separative Work Unit, is the industry’s standard unit for measuring enrichment services.)