In the next 10 years, Paducah, Kentucky, 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.

The facility is about 20 miles as the crow flies from the Missouri border and about 40 from Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

There, General Matter will enrich uranium

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