PIKETON, Ohio (AP) -- President Barack Obama's administration is making sure that work will continue to develop and test a southern Ohio plant that would enrich uranium for nuclear power plants.
The U.S. Department of Energy will ensure cost-shared funding in a deal with USEC Inc. for the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon. The department said Wednesday the cooperative agreement will move critical research forward while protecting taxpayer dollars.
The $350 million project is meant to demonstrate that the uranium enrichment technology will work on a commercial basis, reducing financial risks that have held up USEC's application for a $2 billion loan guarantee for the plant.
The project has bipartisan support in Ohio, where it could create as many as 4,000 jobs in a struggling region.
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