America used to export uranium, but now it is dependent on other countries. In order to protect ourselves, we need to increase uranium mining.
When I served as Energy secretary under President George W. Bush, our administration was deeply concerned that over 50% of our oil was imported, with much of it coming from unstable places. We considered this a major national security matter.
Today, that national security concern has been solved through a combination of American ingenuity, technology and fully embracing our abundant natural resources. But now, we face a similar national security challenge. The U.S. nuclear fleet, generating 20% of this country’s electricity (and about 60% of our carbon-free energy) has become almost entirely dependent on foreign uranium, much of it from countries with elevated geopolitical risks.
At its peak in 1980, U.S. uranium production stood at 43.7 million pounds, enough to supply all of our U.S. reactors and a substantial portion of our allies’ requirements.
In 2017, U.S. uranium production was less than 2.4 million pounds, accounting for about 5% of the nation’s requirements, even though our uranium reserves are sufficient to meet our domestic demand.
National security depends on uranium
This is a recipe for disaster in today’s complex and unpredictable global environment. Reducing dependence on imported oil was a national objective. We must make the same commitment to reducing imports of uranium.
Underscoring the vulnerability to our national security, the Russian Duma recently proposed legislation to terminate all nuclear cooperation with the United States and its allies. This included nuclear fuel supply. The United States imports about 40% of the uranium needed to fuel our domestic reactors from Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In a case of ultimate irony, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Russian hackers have made their way into the control rooms of U.S. electric utility companies, the same “valued” customers of Russian nuclear fuel.
This overdependency on imports has exposed America to unacceptable supply risks and adversarial political manipulation. As President Donald Trump bluntly highlighted in the recent NATO Summit, the Russian Federation in recent years has leveraged a dominant natural gas position within the European community for political and economic gain. The United States is not immune to similar treatment. The question therefore is, why should we put ourselves at the mercy of countries exporting minerals we could develop ourselves?
Over recent decades, nuclear fuel supply from subsidized state-owned companies has become highly elevated and contributed to an overall decline in our nation’s nuclear fuel cycle capabilities. Taking advantage of our free market system, state-controlled companies have increased their market share withprice insensitive material, pushing many free market companies into untenable positions. On a level playing field, U.S. production is competitive, in the lowest 25-50% of global production. The problem: This playing field is not level.
Foreign uranium hurts American miners
Not surprisingly, the result of price insensitive supply from imports has had a devastating impact on U.S. free market nuclear fuel cycle companies, causing them to reduce, suspend or terminate production. This year, the U.S. uranium industry is on track to produce less than 2% of the nation’s requirements, a near 70-year low.
The sole uranium refining and conversion facility in Illinois is in an indefinite shutdown, and we rely on a foreign-owned uranium enrichment facility for our reactor supply. To meet our defense needs, international law and treaties require U.S. sourced material. We cannot accomplish this if we lose our domestic capabilities.
The loss of a domestic infrastructure to support the world’s largest nuclear fleet and U.S defense needs is unacceptable, and so is our eroding global nuclear leadership. Our leadership in nuclear technology and its deployment are critical to international policy development, adherence to rigorous safety standards and nonproliferation.
Meanwhile, China and Russia are advancing their nuclear programs in the global market, diminishing our influence in key regions around the world.
The current administration should be applauded for making important strides to correct government actions affecting this long-ignored industry. Thanks to the efforts of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, U.S. sales of government-owned uranium into the domestic market — which has further undercut domestic producers — has been halted at least through 2019.
Moreover, the Department of Interior’s inclusion of uranium in the list of strategic minerals critical to American economic and national security was constructive, as is the Department of Commerce’s Section 232 investigation on uranium imports.
Hopefully, this new direction in policy and additional actions going forward will translate into the rebuilding and maintaining of a vibrant domestic nuclear power industry. Attaining that objective is vital for this country’s clean air, energy diversification, grid resilience and international policy objectives. Most important, it will address one of the glaring national security challenges facing our nation — a challenge that must be met and surmounted before it is too late.
Spencer Abraham is the former Secretary of Energy. The chairman & CEO of The Abraham Group also serves on the board of directors of Uranium Energy Corp.
Source: USA Today