Russia, US sign nuclear fuel deal
Wed, 27 May 2009 02:31:35 GMT
Russia and the United States have signed a one billion dollar deal that allows Washington to import enriched uranium fuel for its nuclear reactors.
Under the contract, the Russian state-run Tekhsnabeksport firm would supply US utilities with uranium from 2014 to 2020.
According to the contract, Tekhsnabexport, or Tenex, will export nuclear fuel to San Francisco, California-based Pacific Gas & Electric Company; St. Louis, Missouri-based AmerenUE; and Dallas, Texas-based Luminant.
Sergei Novikov, spokesman for the state nuclear agency Rosatom, says the deal will help the US firms, called Fuelco, supply electricity to 5 million households.
Russia, which has over 1 million tons of uranium reserves, reached the groundbreaking agreement with the US on Tuesday.
"We worked for over 5 years to make this happen. This fuel will provide energy for 5 million American homes," Fuelco President Bruce Hamilton told reporters in Moscow after the signing.
Russia is already the biggest single supplier of uranium fuel to US nuclear plants, but it has been barred from expanding those supplies because of protectionist measures imposed by Washington after the collapse of Soviet Union.