(TNS) In the next 10 years, Paducah will be the home of the country’s first U.S.-owned, privately developed uranium enrichment facility.

General Matter, a California-based company, said Aug. 5 it will build a $1.5 billion facility in Paducah at the U.S. Department of Energy’s former Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Once operational, it will employ 140 people and generate more than $70 million annually in regional economic impact, according to the company and the Greater Paducah Economic Development Council.

The company has signed a multi-decade lease with the Department of Energy for 100 acres and will begin construction next year.

There, General Matter will enrich uranium, a process that makes the heavy metal more concentrated to be a suitable form of fuel for nuclear power plants. The Paducah

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