The Tennessee Valley Authority Blended Low Enriched Uranium (BLEU) Program in Partnership with the Department of Energy Off-specification Fuel Program

摘要

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have partnered to pursue the use of down-blended, off-specification highly-enriched uranium (HEU) in TVA reactors. Approximately 46 MTU of off-spec HEU are being dispositioned as BLEU fuel in TVA's reactors with another 15 MTU potentially available. Participation in this agreement required a significant up-front investment by TVA and the assumption of higher risk due to the different fabrication methods required for the BLEU fuel. The potential for significant cost savings that could be shared between TVA and the US Treasury also existed. This paper describes the BLEU program and the challenges TVA and DOE have overcome via implementation through TVA's contract with AREVA and AREVA's subcontractor, Nuclear Fuel Services.