The Energy Department has reached an agreement with two utilities to continue funding the gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Ky.

The plan calls for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to enrich depleted uranium to provide fuel for Energy Northwest in Richland, Wash., and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

DOE said the deal provides national security benefits, saves more than 1,000 jobs at the Paducah plant and gives the department's Office of Environmental Management an extra year to decommission and clean up the Paducah plant.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu called the deal "a creative path forward to utilize a portion of our depleted uranium inventory in a way that brings together the public and private sector to advance America's national security interests at a reduced cost to taxpayers."

The announcement comes after months of pressure from Kentucky Republicans to save jobs and the Paducah plant (E&EDaily, March 12).

The U.S. Enrichment Corp. (USEC), which operates the Paducah plant, told DOE in December 2011 that it was considering halting its enrichment operations at the plant later this year because it doesn't have enough commercial business to warrant operations beyond the end of the month. DOE was concerned the facility's closure would have threatened the agency's nuclear security and environmental cleanup operations, and damaged the local economy in Kentucky.

The uranium transfer is the first step in a larger arrangement between the two utilities and DOE.

Energy Northwest will also receive a portion of DOE's high-assay depleted uranium tails and a year's worth of enrichment services with USEC.

TVA also reached an agreement with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to produce tritium, DOE said. That agreement ensures the United States has a domestic supply of enriched uranium to support NNSA's tritium production for up to 15 years, which is cheaper than "alternative methods," DOE said.

DOE said it conducted an analysis of the domestic uranium market before forging the agreement to ensure the plan won't hurt domestic uranium mining, enrichment or conversion. The study showed no "adverse material impact," DOE said.

DOE said the analysis took a comprehensive view of the department's uranium sales and transfers, including additional transfers to support the DOE's uranium enrichment project in Piketon, Ohio, and transfers of low-enriched uranium related to NNSA's programs for down-blending surplus U.S. highly enriched uranium.

The department said a market analysis that will underpin the agency's uranium management plan will be released this summer.