The increasing uncertainty of oil supplies and the rapid price changes associated with this uncertainty have encouraged some nations to turn increasingly to nuclear energy to produce electricity. The economic penalty associated with no spent fuel reprocessing for the country of Spain is determined, and this serves as an example of one of the consequences of a nonproliferation policy of a “throw-away” fuel cycle. The growth rate of electricity is forecast and the Spanish plan for the addition of nuclear plants is examined. The neutronics of the “throw-away,” the uranium recycle, and the uranium and plutonium cycle systems are reviewed and the economics of each system compared. There is a definite economic advantage to the uranium and plutonium recycle system being employed as early as possible. Such employment will have favorable foreign trade imbalance implications and foster national independence of imported oil.