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GNEP Grant Awardees Announced

By Eric McErlain
From DOE:
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that 11 commercial and public consortia have been selected to receive up to $16 million in grants, subject to negotiation, to conduct detailed siting studies for integrated spent fuel recycling facilities under the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) initiative. DOE will award the grants early next year after negotiations are completed with prospective awardees.

“As our economy grows so will the need for reliable, emissions-free energy generation. Nuclear energy can help meet that need and GNEP can do it in a way that maximizes the benefit of nuclear fuel while minimizing the risk of nuclear proliferation,” DOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon said. “That is why we are pleased that so many communities across the country are interested in hosting the initial facilities necessary to support this exciting project. These selections are an important initial step in proceeding to evaluate and select locations to host GNEP facilities.”

Of the 11 sites located throughout the country, six are currently owned and operated by DOE. The study sites and sponsors are:

1. Atomic City, ID, EnergySolutions, LLC

2. Barnwell, SC, EnergySolutions, LLC

3. Hanford Site, WA, Columbia Basin Consulting Group/Tri-City Industrial Development Council

4. Hobbs, NM, Eddy Lea Energy Alliance

5. Idaho National Laboratory, ID Regional Development Alliance, Inc.

6. Morris, IL, General Electric Company

7. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee

8. Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, KY, Paducah Uranium Plant Asset Utilization, Inc.

9. Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, OH, Piketon Initiative for Nuclear Independence, LLC

10. Roswell, NM, EnergySolutions, LLC

11. Savannah River National Laboratory, SC, Economic Development Partnership of Aiken and Edgefield Counties

The grantees will perform detailed siting studies related to hosting one or both of the Consolidated Fuel Treatment Center and the Advanced Burner Reactor. The subsequent awards will be for a 90-day period of performance to complete a detailed site characterization study of each sponsored site. Congress provided up to $20 million in FY 2006 for integrated spent fuel recycling facilities siting studies. The remaining funds will be held in reserve to potentially fund supplemental activities if required.
Congratulations to all the awardees. And if the name Energy Solutions sounds familiar, there's a reason why.

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