Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

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The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), announced by United States Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman on February 6, 2006, is a plan to form an international partnership to reprocess spent nuclear fuel in a way that renders the plutonium in it usable for nuclear fuel but not for nuclear weapons.

The plan is part of the Advanced Energy Initiative announced by President Bush in his 2006 State of the Union address.

The Department of Energy said:

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership has four main goals. First, reduce America’s dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuels and encourage economic growth. Second, recycle nuclear fuel using new proliferation-resistant technologies to recover more energy and reduce waste. Third, encourage prosperity growth and clean development around the world. And fourth, utilize the latest technologies to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation worldwide.

Through GNEP, the United States will work with other nations possessing advanced nuclear technologies to develop new proliferation-resistant recycling technologies in order to produce more energy, reduce waste and minimize proliferation concerns. Additionally, [the] partner nations will develop a fuel services program to provide nuclear fuel to developing nations allowing them to enjoy the benefits of abundant sources of clean, safe nuclear energy in a cost effective manner in exchange for their commitment to forgo enrichment and reprocessing activities, also alleviating proliferation concerns.

On February 16, 2006 the U.S., France and Japan signed an "arrangement" to research and develop sodium-cooled fast reactors in support of the GNEP. N[1]

The funding for this program in the United States was (as of May 25, 2006) under debate, with the House of Representatives having allotted only $120 million of the $250 million requested by the White House. The Senate had yet to vote on funding, but Senator Pete V. Domenici (R-NM) was quoted in the New York Times as saying, "I plan to restore full funding for G.N.E.P. and go looking for more." [2]