The budget request announced this week for the National Nuclear Security Administration includes a slight increase in spending for the proposed multi-billion-dollar Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
The $335 million request for UPF in Fiscal Year 2015, which starts Oct. 1, is up slightly from $326 million in FY14. That’s roughly a 2.8 percent increase.
The UPF project, which has an official cost estimate of up to $6.5 billion, is part of a broader effort to modernize Y-12, including its production facilities. The 811-acre plant was built during World War II to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic weapons.
But questions have been raised about rising cost projections and a redesign of the UPF. In February 2013, the NNSA said the redesign could add $539 million to the project cost and extend its schedule.
During a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held said the agency wants to get workers out of Building 9212 at Y-12 by 2025. [Read more…]