On Tuesday, Russia’s Techsnabexport (Tenex) signed a landmark agreement with US utilities firm Fuelco worth a reported $1 billion.  Tenex is the export branch of Russia’s Federal Nuclear Energy Agency (Rosatom) and Fuelco is a conglomeration made up of Pacific Gas and Electric Co, Luminant and Ameren UE.

The deal will allow Tenex to supply uranium to US companies from 2014 to 2020 in the first solely commercial uranium contract between Russia and the US; it also follows a negotiated settlement in February 2008 between the two nations authorizing Russian uranium imports to the US civil nuclear power industry.

This article is interesting, as it quotes the same numbers as the propaganda video that I posted with sarcastic comments a few days ago (http://appomattox.posterous.com/how-to-create-a-propoganda-video-american-ene). According to this bit from Uranium Investing News (which I would take with a grain of salt as well, being the cynic that I am), the agreement above represents a change in U.S. policy regarding Russian and nuclear proliferation. Prior to this agreement, Russian uranium arrived in the U.S. under the "megatons to megawatts program" first enacted in 1993 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megatons_to_Megawatts_Program )

The m-to-m program allowed Russia to sell surplus weapons-grade uranium for U.S. civilian reactors. Wonder if the U.S. can talk N. Korea into the same deal - or would that deal mean war for Russian and N. Korea? Shoot, uranium is like gold in them thar hills.

According to Fuelco President Bruce Hamilton, this fuel will provide energy for five million American homes. According to U.S. Republican Senator Lamar Alexander (TN), "nuclear power is presently the only viable alternative to fossil fuels." Alexander also has called for 100 new nuclear power plants over the next twenty years. I wonder exactly what Alexander is up to. Beyond my curiosity, it would be nice to hear Alexander explain "energy independence" to folks who believe that uranium mined in Virginia would stay in Virginia. It can't happen, as the yellowcake would need to be shipped off to be enriched so it could be used in nuclear power plants.

This article also reveals that Russian holds nearly 40 percent of the world's uranium enrichment capacity. Currently, there is one fully-functioning uranium enrichment plant in the U.S., in Paducah, Kentucky.