Office of Nuclear Energy

The Department of Energy is seeking new members to join its federal advisory board for the Office of Environmental Management, according to a Monday Federal Register notice. The deadline for nominations to the Environmental Management Advisory Board is May 15. Customarily DOE draws the advisory board members for the $8-billion-plus Office of Environmental Management from […]

The budget for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy would fall about 12% to around $1.56 billion in fiscal year 2024 if the White House’s latest federal spending request became law. That’s about $210 million less than the 2023 appropriation Congress provided in December in an omnibus spending bill for the part of […]

The budget for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy would fall about 12% to around $1.56 billion in fiscal year 2024 if the White House’s latest federal spending request became law. That’s about $210 million less than the 2023 appropriation Congress provided in December in an omnibus spending bill for the part of […]

WASHINGTON — It will still be another decade or so before the Department of Energy identifies a willing host community for a federal interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel, a senior official said here. “We probably won’t have constructed interim storage acceptance for 10 years, 15 years,” Kathryn Huff, the agency’s assistant secretary for […]

The Department of Energy on Friday marked the anniversary of Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine with a list of the agency’s contributions to Kyiv during the conflict. Both the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Office of Nuclear Energy merited callouts in Friday’s press release for showing Ukrainian personnel how to identify radiation releases, conduct unspecified […]

PHOENIX — The Department of Energy has yet to select a candidate to lead its ongoing effort to find a willing community to host a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the agency’s nuclear power head said here this week. Although DOE is no longer accepting applications for its vacant deputy assistant secretary […]

PHOENIX — When it comes time to search for a potential host for a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the Department of Energy could offer financial incentives to move things along, the agency’s top nuclear waste official said here this week. Once DOE finishes up its ongoing information-gathering activities among interim storage […]

PHOENIX — Opening a federally-run interim storage facility for the nation’s stranded spent nuclear fuel inventory might not be the only way the Department of Energy could declare victory in its most recent effort to build one, the agency’s nuclear waste lead said here this week. DOE’s consent-based approach for siting a federal interim storage […]

PHOENIX — Opening a federally-run interim storage facility for the nation’s stranded spent nuclear fuel inventory might not be the only way the Department of Energy could declare victory in its most recent effort to build one, the agency’s nuclear waste lead said here Wednesday. DOE’s consent-based approach for siting a federal interim storage facility […]

PHOENIX — When it comes time to search for a potential host for a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the Department of Energy could offer financial incentives to move things along, the agency’s top nuclear waste official said here Wednesday. Once DOE finishes up its ongoing information-gathering activities among interim storage stakeholders, […]

PHOENIX — The Department of Energy has yet to select a candidate to lead its ongoing effort to find a willing community to host a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the agency’s nuclear power head said here Monday. Although DOE is no longer accepting applications for its vacant deputy assistant secretary for […]

A federal safety watchdog reports there were two mishaps in radioactive waste storage areas last month at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, including one where a container of radioactive waste fell four feet. Both incidents, one on Dec. 10, and another Dec. 20, occurred at Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, according to […]

ARLINGTON, VA. — The two companies aiming to build privately-owned interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel should apply for financial aid under a multi-million-dollar Department of Energy program, a senior agency official said here Tuesday at a conference. Holtec and Interim Storage Partners (ISP) are “welcome to apply to the funding opportunity announcement,” Kim […]

WATERFORD, CT — Congress probably will not allow the Department of Energy to build an interim storage site for nuclear waste any time soon, one of Capitol Hill’s foremost advocates for spent fuel solutions said here Tuesday. Federal law passed as part of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act says the Department of Energy has to […]

WATERFORD, CT — The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy will begin looking for a new head of spent fuel and waste disposition soon, the head of the office said here Tuesday. DOE plans to open applications for deputy assistant secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition “in the coming days,” Assistant Secretary of […]

Sam Brinton, hired over the summer to lead the Department of Energy’s efforts to find a disposal solution for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, was fired from the agency following multiple accusations of felony theft, according to reports. Brinton was removed from their post as DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition, […]

The Senate could vote this week on a short-term federal funding extension and soon after that on the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, leaving a long-term 2023 spending bill as the last domino to fall before the 118th Congress begins in January. In the Department of Energy, both the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) active […]

Sam Brinton, hired over the summer to lead the Department of Energy’s efforts to find a disposal solution for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, was fired from the agency following multiple accusations of felony theft, according to reports. Brinton was removed from their post as DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition, […]

Samuel Brinton, the Department of Energy’s recently-hired head of nuclear waste policy, has been implicated in another alleged theft, this time at a Nevada airport, according to documents obtained by the Exchange Monitor. Brinton, who has served as DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition since June, was accused of grand larceny […]

Sam Brinton’s alleged theft of a woman’s suitcase from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in September, and the lies Brinton allegedly told law enforcement about it, has greatly damaged Brinton’s credibility. To take the wrong suitcase from an airport baggage carousel is one thing. To take a suitcase from a carousel at your destination after […]

WASHINGTON — Days after news broke that Samuel Brinton, a Department of Energy official responsible for nuclear waste policy, was charged with felony theft in Minnesota, Brinton’s boss spoke only in general terms to lawmakers and press here Thursday about possible disciplinary steps. “It is certainly correct that when a DOE clearance-holder is charged with […]

The state of Minnesota has charged the Department of Energy’s recently-hired head of spent nuclear fuel management with felony theft, court documents show. According to a criminal complaint filed Oct. 27 in Minnesota’s 4th Judicial District Court, Sam Brinton, who began working in June as DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition, […]

After the Department of Energy last week refused to fund a proposal to restart a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant in Michigan, the company in charge of the facility said it planned to move ahead with decommissioning, according to a spokesperson. A Holtec International spokesperson confirmed to the Exchange Monitor Friday that DOE had rejected the […]

The legislative process could prove an obstacle to the Department of Energy’s goal to get a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel up and running within a decade or so, an agency official said during a recent webinar. DOE’s prediction that its proposed interim storage site could be open in 10-15 years is, […]

The Department of Energy in December plans to start a competition for a long-term contract to purchase energy-dense uranium fuel, with an eye toward awarding a deal in July, the agency told prospective bidders last week. In slides briefed during an Oct. 13 industry day and published online subsequently, DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy said […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy is considering the purchase of up to 25 metric tons annually of high-assay low enriched uranium, the office said Thursday in a request that solicited both information about and sources of the material. The office envisions at least a six-year contract for the material, to begin “as […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy is considering the purchase of up to 25 metric tons annually of high-assay low enriched uranium, the office said Thursday in a request that solicited both information about and sources of the material. The office envisions at least a six-year contract for the material, to begin “as […]

KNOXVILLE, TENN. — The Department of Energy looks forward to a future with miniature power reactors springing up around cleanup sites, but first it must deal with headaches such as brain drain and rising commodities costs: a few of the recurring themes from a two-day conference here this week. Re-industrialization of Cold War and Manhattan […]

The Department of Energy’s latest search for a consenting host community for spent nuclear fuel can succeed even if no community consents, the agency’s newly minted nuclear waste chief said in an exclusive interview this week. “That off ramp is also a success, because we are not wasting resources on unworkable solutions,” Sam Brinton, deputy […]

ARLINGTON, VA. — The Department of Energy should have an interim storage site for nuclear fuel within 10-to-15 years, an Office of Nuclear Energy official told the National Cleanup Workshop here Thursday. “The Department of Energy has a trust problem; I understand that,” said Sam Brinton, deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition,” […]