Nuclear Fuel Funding Deal Confronts Global Market Uncertainties

A congressional deal authorizing $2.7 billion for uranium enrichment was a long-sought win for the nuclear industry as it seeks to secure a fuel supply for the current fleet of plants and advanced reactors in the pipeline, industry experts said.

Now, the impact of that money hinges on a hard-to-predict market that could swing wildly with supply constraints and the development of future reactors that have yet to be demonstrated. Most immediately, the price effects of any blocking of US imports of Russian uranium, the largest foreign provider of the nuclear power fuel, could influence the ...