USU - USEC Inc.
USEC's American Centrifuge Plant Needed to Fuel Nuclear Power's Growth
Thursday April 26, 10:30 am ET
Company Shareholders Hear Update on Deployment of New Technology
BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new generation of nuclear reactors expected to be built over the next decade will need a reliable supply of enriched uranium fuel, John K. Welch, USEC president and chief executive officer, told the annual meeting of shareholders today. He said the American Centrifuge Plant, to be built by USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU - News), will provide utilities ready to make an investment in nuclear energy with an assurance that a secure, domestic supply of nuclear fuel will be available for many years to come.
Welch outlined how nuclear power is making a comeback as the energy of choice for generating electricity. "The United States and much of the developing world must build new electric generating plants to keep up with burgeoning demand and to replace aging, dirty and inefficient fossil-fueled power plants. World demand is expected to double by 2030," he said.
Welch noted that the emerging economic powers of Asia are ordering new nuclear power plants, and after a hiatus of more than two decades, U.S. utilities are poised to begin building a new generation of nuclear reactors.
"As a zero-emissions technology, nuclear power is the only large-scale, base load electric generation that does not add greenhouse gases to the environment and does not contribute to global warming. We believe this attribute will become increasingly important over the coming decades," Welch said.
USEC is currently assembling and installing centrifuge machines for the Lead Cascade, the first group of American Centrifuge machines linked together to enrich uranium, Welch said. The Lead Cascade is expected to be operating in mid-2007 and will provide important confirmation of machine performance.
Welch also discussed the challenges ahead of the Company to obtain financing for the project. USEC has estimated the target cost of the project at $2.3 billion. USEC has been seeking some form of investment or other participation by a third party and/or the U.S. government to help finance the project, he said.
During the meeting, shareholders elected the incumbent directors seeking election to a one-year term and ratified the appointment of the independent public accounting firm for 2007. James D. Woods, a director since 2001, announced his retirement from the Board at the February meeting and did not seek another term. Chairman James R. Mellor thanked Woods for his dedicated service to the Board and his insightful counsel as chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee.
Mellor said Woods' leadership had helped USEC to adhere to corporate governance standards that are among the best in corporate America, according to a ranking conducted annually by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). Earlier this month, ISS rated USEC corporate governance practices as better than 95.8 percent of the companies in the Russell 3000 index, an index of America's 3000 largest publicly held companies. ISS provides proxy advisory service to many institutional shareholders.
To read a copy for Welch's complete remarks to shareholders, please go to "Speeches" in the Newsroom section of our website at www.usec.com .
USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
This document contains "forward-looking statements" - that is, statements related to future events. In this context, forward-looking statements may address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "will" and other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For USEC, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the success of the demonstration and deployment of our American Centrifuge technology including our ability to meet our target cost estimate and schedule for the American Centrifuge Plant and our ability to secure required external financial support; pricing trends in the uranium and enrichment markets; changes to, or termination of, our contracts with the U.S. government and changes in U.S. government priorities and the availability of government funding; the competitive environment for our products and services; changes in the nuclear energy industry; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly Form 10-Qs. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements except as required by law.
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USEC Inc.
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Elizabeth Stuckle, 301-564-3399
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Steven Wingfield, 301-564-3354
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Source: USEC Inc.
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