USA Seeking Large Amount Of Uranium By Year EndWASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th October, 2022) The United States is developing a uranium strategy in order to source its own nuclear reactor fuel, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Wednesday. "The United States wants to be able to source its own fuel from ourselves and that's why we are developing a uranium strategy both through the defense production act as I mentioned, as well as seeking an additional large amount by the year end for a more fulsome strategy," Granholm said during the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power Conference. "We've got to develop our own supply chain in order for our existing reactors to continue to function as well."
Granholm declined to comment on whether the Biden administration is preparing to impose sanctions on Rosatom.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Russia is the United States' fourth largest source of uranium. In 2021, 14% of the uranium the US purchased came from Russia. The US top three sources of uranium are Kazakhstan (35% of imports), Canada (15%), and Australia (14%).
The Russian delegation - comprised of representatives from the state energy corporation Rosatom and the technical watchdog Rostekhnadzor - planned to take part in the ministerial meeting but was not provided the necessary visas by the US government.
The fifth International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century, organized in cooperation with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, is being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the US capital.