COLUMBUS, Ohio
A company said Tuesday it is suspending construction on a uranium enrichment plant in southern Ohio because the federal government would not grant a $2 billion loan guarantee.
In a statement, USEC Inc. CEO John Welch said that the Bethesda, Md.-based company was advised of the U.S. Department of Energy's decision, which he described as shocking and disappointing.
USEC has been developing the American Centrifuge project in Piketon, about 65 miles south of Columbus, at the site of a former gaseous diffusion plant that enriched uranium during the Cold War.
The company says the project would have created thousands of jobs.
USEC spokeswoman Elizabeth Stuckle said Tuesday that the company would try to find other financing, though she said that's tough in the current economy.
The company applied for the loan 11 months ago under a U.S. Department of Energy program launched by former President George W. Bush.
The project was announced five years ago. It was supposed to open in 2011 and employ about 400 when completed.
Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland wrote to President Barack Obama in March, saying that "thousands of new jobs currently being created will be delayed or perhaps lost" without timely approval of the loan guarantee.
Rob Portman, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate and a former congressman from Cincinnati whose district included Piketon, also recently wrote to Obama urging quick approval of the loan guarantee.
Obama was supportive when he campaigned in southern Ohio last year.
Research for the plant has been underway in Oakridge, Tenn.
For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement