The U.S. Cannot Abandon Russian-Enriched Uranium, Says Wright

The U.S. is not yet able to abandon supplies of Russian-enriched uranium, but is "working diligently" towards that goal, said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright. He noted that due to the increase in nuclear reactors, the U.S. is projected to consume more uranium.

“We are moving in that direction, although we have not arrived at the point of no longer using Russian-enriched uranium. We expect to see a rapid increase in uranium consumption in the U.S., both in large and small modular reactors. Over time, the necessary buffer size will grow. We need a significant amount of domestic uranium and enrichment capacity,” he stated.

Bloomberg reports that Russia supplies about a quarter of the enriched uranium necessary for the U.S. fleet of 94 nuclear reactors, which produce nearly one-fifth of the electricity in the United States. According to the agency, a sharp withdrawal from this source could jeopardize approximately 5% of electricity supply in the absence of alternative suppliers or additional reserves.