USEC Inc., based in Bethesda, Md., is developing the American Centrifuge project on the site of a former gaseous diffusion plant in Piketon, about 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

The centrifuge technology is considered more efficient for concentrating the fissionable uranium isotope U235.

“The market for our enrichment product remains strong with improving prices, and we like the prospect for growth in our industry,” CEO John Welch said when USEC announced its third-quarter results on Nov. 4.

But in a companion announcement about progress at Piketon, Welch conceded that work may depend on whether USEC gets the $2 billion Department of Energy-guaranteed loan it has applied for.

“We do not believe public market financing for a large capital project such as the ACP is available to us, given current financial market conditions,” Welch said. “We view the DOE loan guarantee program as the path for obtaining the debt financing to complete the American Centrifuge project.”

In February, USEC said the Piketon cost would be more than double the original estimate five years ago and $1.2 billion more than just a year earlier. USEC expected the plant will begin operation in late 2009, and have 11,500 centrifuge machines — each about 40 feet tall — running in 2012.

In September, it awarded a $1 billion contract to Fluor Corp. of Irving, Texas, for engineering, procurement and construction.

Go get the new article and read it… you can thank me later. Here’s the link: Funding “iffy” for Ohio uranium enrichment plant