OREANDA-NEWS. Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF), a joint venture majority owned by GE, today announced that it has been selected by Energy Northwest to continue to provide fuel reloads for the Columbia Generating Station near Richland, Washington.

A new fuel supply contract awarded to GNF runs from 2019 through 2027 and includes five reloads for the 1,190 megawatt boiling water reactor. The total value of the contract is approximately $90 million.   

“GNF has fueled Columbia since 2009 and this contract means that we’ll continue to help Energy Northwest meet its performance goals with our industry-leading fuel products,” said Lance Hall, Executive Vice President, Nuclear Fuels and Services, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.

Columbia began using GNF2 fuel in 2015. The GNF2 high performance fuel assembly is designed to deliver increased energy output while decreasing overall fuel cycle costs. GNF2's advanced design saves utilities money by reducing the total amount of uranium and the average enrichment in fuel reloads.

Fuel for Columbia is fabricated by GNF at its state-of-the-art facility in Wilmington, N.C.