Ohio uranium plant loses out on first loan guarantee

PIKETON, Ohio (AP) — A planned uranium-enrichment plant in southern Ohio has missed out on a $2 billion federal loan guarantee, but there’s one more chance.

On Thursday, the U.S. Energy Department awarded $2 billion in support to a similar project in Idaho, not the American Centrifuge plant under development in Piketon, 65 miles south of Columbus.

But department officials say they plan to provide one other, identical loan guarantee to foster uranium enrichment technology.

The government last year rejected a $2 billion guarantee for the Piketon project but then agreed to give the company behind it time to rework its application.

Bethesda, Md.-based USEC Inc. wants to enrich uranium to help produce electricity through nuclear power. The plant could mean thousands of jobs.