Image by 20080524nuclear.jpg Rendering of mixed oxide fuel fabrication facility which will convert nuclear weapons material into a source of energy for commercial nuclear reactors.

A deal to build a $2.7 billion plant to convert weapons-grade plutonium into commercial fuel has been signed between the U.S. Energy Department and Shaw Areva MOX Services, a French company.

[gmap markers=blue::33.27543541298162,-81.771240234375 |zoom=7 |center=33.22030778968541,-80.760498046875 |width=270px |height=180px |control=None |type=Map]The technology essentially convert bombs into usable energy by removing impurities in the weapons-grade material and mixing it with uranium oxide to create MOX fuel. The process has been used for decades in Europe.

Construction on the 600,000-square-foot facility began in August and should be complete by 2016.