EnergyTuesday, November 3
Nucleon pitched a $575 million uranium conversion plant to a packed Gillette College open house
The Good Day Gillette team
If you missed Wednesday's open house, here's the pitch: Calgary-based Nucleon Energy wants to build a conversion plant at Fort Union Industrial Park, just north of town. It would turn Wyoming-mined yellowcake into uranium hexafluoride, the step before enrichment. More than 100 people came with questions.
Nucleon's plant by the numbers
- $575 million
- for the proposed conversion plant
- Up to 330
- permanent jobs if all three units are built
- 2032
- when the first unit would be in operation
- 3
- possible conversion units, or "trains"
Reactions were mixed. Todd Muller, who works at Strata Energy, said the project would be "really good for the county." Kelley Boltin asked what happens if a spill occurs and told WyoFile safety is "No. 1." Mandy Steward called the poster-board format a "ripoff to the community."
- Capacity: about 5,000 metric tons per unit
- Three units would double U.S. hexafluoride conversion capacity
- Only U.S. plant now: Metropolis, Illinois
Last year, BWXT proposed a $500 million TRISO nuclear fuel manufacturing facility in Gillette. Wednesday's event was the first of several public meetings Nucleon plans, and Chief Development Officer Ryan Tourigny said feedback can still help shape the project.
Nucleon's proposed plant would cost more than BWXT's proposed TRISO facility
Source: WyoFile
View as table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Nucleon conversion plant | $575 million |
| BWXT TRISO facility | $500 million |
Sources: WyoFile, County 17, WyomingNews.com