Westinghouse Electric Company has announced an investment of about $1 billion to build one of the most advanced nuclear fuel plants in the United States, at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina. Work has already begun, and operations are expected to start in 2030.
It will be the first fleet-scale nuclear fuel plant built in the United States in more than 50 years. It will produce LEU+ fuel: low-enriched uranium at a higher enrichment level, between 5% and 8%, which raises reactor output and cuts costs by shortening refueling outages. According to Westinghouse, commercial reactors can run for 24 months between refuelings instead of the standard 18. The company completed the first successful use of LEU+ fuel in the United States last year.
The new building sits next to a historic facility. The Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility was built in 1968 and is one of the largest nuclear fuel plants in the world. According to Westinghouse, it produces the fuel that powers about 10% of the electricity generated in the United States. The site employs more than 1,200 people in the Lower Richland area.
The project is part of the American effort to bring the fuel supply chain back home. The Department of Energy is investing billions to rebuild uranium enrichment capacity, both for low-enriched and high-assay uranium. Westinghouse’s investment expands the capacity to turn enriched uranium into fuel for existing reactors and for the next generation. CEO Dan Sumner thanked the DOE, whose support was “key to reaching this historic achievement.”
The economic benefits have been quantified. The investment is expected to generate $4.9 billion in economic impact in South Carolina over the next ten years, including $3.8 billion in Richland County. The county has granted a tax incentive package: the assessment ratio drops from 10.5% to 4%, and the rate stays frozen for 40 years. In return, Westinghouse must invest at least $400 million in real estate and equipment.
The fuel will also serve customers abroad. Production will support the long-term operation of existing plants and the international rollout of Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactors. If the schedule holds, from 2030 operators of uranium-fueled plants will be able to count on a domestic source of higher-performance fuel, with longer cycles and fewer refueling shutdowns.
