Originally published June 14, 2023 11:12 am PDT
The American energy sector has been spending around $1 billion annually to procure the enriched uranium needed to fuel over half of its emission-free power, from Russia’s state-controlled nuclear corporation, Rosatom.
These purchases represent one of the most significant fiscal links between the U.S. and Russia, persisting in spite of a concerted drive among Biden administration allies abroad to break economic connections with Moscow.
Rosatom’s subsidiaries receive these payments, the agency itself being deeply integrated with the Russian military infrastructure, according to The New York Times (NYT).
America will increasingly have to rely on nuclear power, as the Biden administration’s so-called “climate change” policies transition the U.S. away from hydrocarbon fuels.
Historically, the U.S. held dominance in the uranium enrichment market.
However, a confluence of past events, including a uranium purchase agreement between the U.S. and Russia aimed at fostering Russia’s civilian nuclear initiative after the Soviet Union fell, allowed Russia to secure half of the global market.
Consequently, the U.S. eventually stopped enriching uranium completely.
Although the U.S. and Europe have largely ceased purchasing Russian fossil fuels following Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, establishing a new supply chain for enriched uranium is anticipated to take years.
It would also require more governmental funds than what has been currently earmarked.
Russia, being the world’s least expensive enriched uranium producer, provides about a third of the U.S.’s supply, with the remainder mainly coming from Europe.
The last segment is produced by a British-Dutch-German consortium operating within the U.S. It’s not just the U.S., but nearly a dozen countries worldwide rely on Russia for over half of their enriched uranium requirements.
This dependency creates a risk for existing and future U.S. nuclear power plants, leaving them susceptible to any potential Russian discontinuation of enriched uranium sales.
Such a move could indeed be a geopolitical strategy that Russian President Vladimir Putin might employ, considering his history of using energy as a geopolitical tool, NYT reports.
However, the Biden White House has demonstrated limited urgency in initiating domestic enrichment.
The potential billions in federal funding required are still mired in red tape.
James Krellenstein, the director of GHS Climate, a clean energy consultancy that recently published a white paper on the issue, noted, “It’s inexplicable that over a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Biden administration does not appear to have a plan to end this dependence.”
He added that the U.S. could “eliminate almost all of America’s dependence on Russian enrichment by finishing the centrifuge plant in Ohio,” referring to Ohio’s unfinished American Centrifuge Plant.
“That the vast facility in Piketon, Ohio, stands nearly empty more than a year into Russia’s war in Ukraine is a testament to the difficulty,” NYT notes.
Given Joe Biden’s anti-Russia stance, questions are raised as to why his administration continues to rely on the country for energy, sending it billions in American taxpayer dollars.
