WASHINGTON – The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s (DOE/NNSA) Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) project has been authorized by Departmental leadership to start construction on the Main Process Building (MPB), Salvage & Accountability Building (SAB), and Process Support Facilities (PSF) subprojects.

UPF will replace an early-Cold War plant with a modern, more efficient, and safer facility for conducting highly-enriched uranium operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Secretary Rick Perry said, “The DOE strives to excel in project management. This is a great example of our efforts to keep projects on schedule and to be good stewards of taxpayer resources.”

Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette is the Project Management Executive who approved the cost and baseline for this vital work that will help modernize the Nation’s nuclear security infrastructure.

“This milestone is another important step toward delivering UPF and strengthening our Nation’s nuclear security,” said Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, DOE Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator. “I’m proud of the UPF team for keeping an acquisition project of this size and scope on budget and on schedule.”

The MPB is a three-story 240,000 square foot building that will house enriched uranium operations. The other two buildings – the SAB and the PSF – will support operations in the MPB.

The UPF project is being built through a series of seven subprojects. Two were completed on time and under budget and two were underway prior to authorization of these three buildings. The project achieved 90% design completion in September 2017 in advance of seeking this authorization.

Using a “build to budget” strategy, NNSA has committed to Congress to deliver UPF for no more than $6.5 billion by the end of 2025, assuming stable funding through the duration of the project.