Turning uranium into energy

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nuclear power provides about 20 percent of electricity in the United States. That power coms from uranium, a heavy metal, which undergoes a lengthy process to become a fuel source.

It starts with mining rocks that contain uranium. In Pittsylvania County, there are two large untapped ore bodies. Virginia Uranium, a Chatham-based company, wants to mine the site.

Uranium is comprised of various isotopes, only one of which is useful for energy production. Uranium-235, when enriched and burned, produces energy for electricity. However, U-235 only makes up about 0.7 percent of uranium. The bulk of the remaining 99.3 percent is uranium-238, said Patrick Wales, project manager for Virginia Uranium. To create energy, U-235 and U-238 must first be separated through milling.

During milling, the ore is crushed, mixed with water and chemicals, heated and pressurized; the pH balance also is altered. Virginia Uranium proposes to do both the mining and milling on site. The radioactive tailings, the byproduct of milling, are stored in a tailings management facility indefinitely.

After isolating U-235 through milling, the resulting powder, commonly called yellowcake, has to be converted into a gas so it's malleable. The only conversion facility in the United States is located in Metropolis, Ill.

From there, it's sent to Paducah, Ky., or to Eunice, N.M., where it is enriched to bring the concentration from the natural 0.7 percent to 5 percent, the standard for commercial-use nuclear power, said Wales.

The next step is fuel fabrication, where the gas undergoes one of various methods to create fuel pellets. There are a handful of fuel- fabrication facilities in the country, including two in Lynchburg.

Finally, the pellets are sent to power plants in 31 states for energy generation. Virginia is home to two nuclear power plants, each of which has two reactors. North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, and Surry Power Station, Surry County, are owned and operated by Dominion Power. Together, they provide about one-third of Virginia's electricity.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nuclear power generated 39.6 percent of Virginia's electricity in 2009. Coal came in second with 37.3 percent. Gas was 17.2 percent, oil was 1.6 percent and hyrdo was 0.3 percent.

The United States imports 92 percent of its nuclear power resources, according to the EIA. Major exporters are Russia, Australia and Canada.