Two years into construction of a $5 billion facility for turning weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for nuclear power plants, the Energy Department has yet to solidify plans for getting plutonium feedstock and selling converted fuel, according to a Government Accountability Office report released today.

At issue is the National Nuclear Security Administration's mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication plant at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. Scheduled for a 2016 opening, the MOX plant will convert at least 34 metric tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium into fuel assemblies that can be used at commercial power plants.

But the planned "pit disassembly" facility that would prepare about two-thirds of the weapons-grade plutonium to supply the fabrication plant will not be ready by 2016, and alternatives are at very preliminary stages, according to GAO.

"It seems unlikely that NNSA will be able to establish this capability in time to produce the plutonium feedstock needed to operate the [MOX fuel fabrication facility], due to the amount of time and effort needed to reconsider alternatives and construct a facility as well as the amount of uncertainty associated with NNSA's current plans," the report says.

To fill this supply gap, NNSA is considering using 1.4 metric tons of fuel-grade plutonium also located at the Savannah River Site and expanding the capacity of another pit conversion facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory, although that will depend on a number of untested technologies.

But GAO said it is concerned with safety issues regarding NNSA's alternative plans because the MOX facility was not built to handle fuel-grade plutonium and the "aggressive" plan to have critical technology at the Los Alamos facility ready in time to supply the MOX facility seems ripe for cost overruns and delays.

GAO is urging DOE to develop a plan for the "likely" shortfall of plutonium oxide supply for the MOX facility that takes into account the potential problems with its alternative plans and develop a technology maturation plan for the pit disassembly and conversion mission.

NNSA also has not sufficiently reached out to utilities that would make the necessary changes to their reactors to take the fuel after it has been converted, GAO said. The Tennessee Valley Authority is in discussions with DOE to use the fuel in five of its reactors (E&ENews PM, July 14, 2009). But most utilities show little interest or do not know of possible incentives NNSA is offering for the program, GAO said.

NNSA should conduct more outreach programs, such as informing utilities of possible incentives DOE is offering for the utilities to take the converted fuel, including paying for modifications necessary for the reactors, backup fuel assurance and selling the fuel at a discount, GAO said.

Click here to read the report.