Archive

Orano

The U.S. arm of the French multinational nuclear group, involved in fuel cycle services, used fuel management, and decommissioning support, including past work on the Savannah River MOX project.

  • Orano to Begin Prepping Used Fuel Processing Facility in China

    French nuclear fuel company Orano said Monday it is moving ahead with operations to prepare for construction of a used nuclear fuel processing and recycling facility in China. Orano engineering subsidiary Orano Projets sealed a deal with China National Nuclear Corp. branch CNLA to move ahead with the work. The agreement “marks a new step […]

  • DOE Asks Judge to Lift Hold on MFFF Cancellation

    The Department of Energy wants a federal judge to let the agency resume closing an over-budget plutonium disposal plant in South Carolina, court papers filed Friday show. On June 7, in a lawsuit brought by South Carolina, U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs ordered DOE to halt its planned closure of the unfinished Mixed Oxide […]

  • Judge Says NNSA Must Return $20M in Reclaimed Fees to MFFF Contractor

    A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) must return some $20 million in fees its clawed back in 2016 from the prime contractor on the unfinished, over-budget Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). In a series of filings since consolidated in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, CB&I AREVA MOX […]

  • Judge Says NNSA Must Return $20M in Reclaimed Fees to MFFF Contractor

    A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) must return some $20 million in fees its clawed back in 2016 from the prime contractor on the unfinished, over-budget Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). In a series of filings since consolidated in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, CB&I AREVA MOX […]

  • WIPP Contractor NWP Gets $10.7M in Fees During Fiscal 2017

    Nuclear Waste Partnership, the Energy Department’s prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., took home 90 percent of its total potential fee for fiscal 2017. That percentage was good for $10.7 million in fees for the budget year that ended Sept. 30, 2017. That was a better percentage than the […]

  • WIPP Contractor Gets $10.7M in Fees During Fiscal 2017

    Nuclear Waste Partnership, the Energy Department’s prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., took home 90 percent of its total potential fee for fiscal 2017. That percentage was good for $10.7 million in fees for the budget year that ended Sept. 30, 2017. That was a better percentage than the […]

  • South Carolina Threatens to Sue Energy Department Over MOX Termination

    South Carolina could sue the Department of Energy today over plans to terminate the Savannah River Site’s MOX project, state Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a letter Tuesday to DOE Secretary Rick Perry. The Energy Department earlier this month formalized plans to convert the unfinished Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) for production of […]

  • MOX Contractor Lawsuit Going to Trial in April 2019

    The blockbuster lawsuit between the Department of Energy and the prime contractor for the unfinished Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) will go to trial in April 2019, a federal judge ordered this week. Judge Thomas Wheeler of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims handed down the order the week after DOE made official its […]

  • Wrap Up: Industry Veteran Joins Longenecker & Associates

    Las Vegas-based Longenecker & Associates said Tuesday it has hired nuclear industry veteran Mike Briggs to the newly created post of senior program manager for operational support. Briggs, who has worked on major projects within the Energy Department complex, will oversee L&A’s operational support business, which includes training, nuclear safety, and radiation protection. “As L&A […]

  • DOE Wants Judge to Consolidate Five MOX Lawsuits

    Seeking to cut the time it will spend in court, the Department of Energy last week asked a federal judge to consolidate five lawsuits filed against the agency by the prime contractor on a long-delayed plutonium-disposal plant in South Carolina. CB&I AREVA MOX Services first sued the Department of Energy (DOE) in the U.S. Court […]

  • Hanford Contractor WRPS Issues RFI

    Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), the tank management contractor for the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state, has issued a request for information (RFI) for subcontractors interested in doing construction work inside the tank farm. WRPS expects to issue a formal request for proposals (RFP) during the final quarter of fiscal 2018, which ends […]

  • AECOM, BWXT Teams Keep Eyes on SRS Waste Contract Prize

    Top executives at AECOM and BWX Technologies this week made clear their companies still aim to come out on top in the extended contest for a multibillion-dollar contract at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. David Black, senior vice president and chief financial officer at Virginia-based BWXT, addressed the situation in […]

  • Centrus Revenue Rises as Legal Fight With DOE Ends

    Centrus Energy reaped far more revenue in the first quarter of 2018 than it did during the same period of 2017, but still reported a net loss during for its latest earnings period. The Rockville, Md.-based uranium fuel provider reported $35.7 million in revenue for the first three months of 2018 compared to $7.2 million […]

  • DOE Wants Judge to Consolidate Five MOX Lawsuits

    Seeking to cut the time it will spend in court, the Department of Energy last week asked a federal judge to consolidate five lawsuits filed against the agency by the prime contractor on a long-delayed plutonium-disposal plant in South Carolina. CB&I AREVA MOX Services first sued the Department of Energy (DOE) in the U.S. Court […]

  • Hanford Tank Contractor WRPS Issues RFI

    Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), the tank management contractor for the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state, has issued a request for information (RFI) for subcontractors interested in doing construction work inside the tank farm. WRPS expects to issue a formal request for proposals (RFP) during the final quarter of fiscal 2018, which ends […]

  • Judge to Hear Oral Arguments This Month in MOX Lawsuit

    A federal judge has decided to let the Department of Energy and a contractor argue in court about whether the agency was allowed to claw back some $20 million in fees on a long-overdue, over-budget plutonium disposal plant in South Carolina. That is according to an April 27 order by U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge […]

  • S.C. Gov. Threatens to Drag DOE to Court if it Cancels MFFF

    The governor of South Carolina this week promised a court challenge if the Department of Energy cancels the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) under construction in his state, or turns the planned plutonium-disposal plant into a new weapons facility. The sprawling facility, billions over budget and years behind schedule, is being built to turn […]

  • WCS Spent Fuel Storage License Application to be Revived in 2Q

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Waste Control Specialists and Orano USA plan within the next two months to formally request that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission resume its review of a stalled license application for consolidated interim storage of spent fuel in West Texas, according to the executive leading their partnership. The companies expect in the second quarter […]

  • NNSA to Release Cost Estimate for MOX Alternative in June

    WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy will release a detailed cost estimate for its plan to bury 34 metric tons of diluted weapon-usable plutonium in the New Mexico desert around June, an agency official said here Wednesday. “June-ish,” Virginia Kay, deputy director of the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Office of Material Disposition, told […]

  • Judge to Hear Oral Arguments This Month in MOX Lawsuit

    A federal judge has decided to let the Department of Energy and a contractor argue in court about whether the agency was allowed to claw back some $20 million in fees on a long-overdue, over-budget plutonium disposal plant in South Carolina. That is according to a Friday order by U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Thomas […]

  • MOX Services Contorted Contract Language in Effort to Keep $20M in Unearned Fees, DOE Says

    In court papers Wednesday, the Department of Energy doubled down on its argument that the contractor on an over-budget plutonium-disposal plant targeted for cancellation contorted the language of its deal in an attempt to convince a federal judge the company should keep $20 million in contested fees. The $20 million is only a small part […]

  • Shrinking Margins Encourage Mergers for DOE Contractors, Executive Says

    Declining profit margins, in some cases just 2 to 4 percent, are a major reason for the wave of mergers and acquisitions by companies that do business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup sector, a senior executive with one contractor said last week. Contractors can expect to receive 5 to 7 percent if everything […]

  • DOE Justified MOX Project Fee Claw-Back With Bad Reading of Contract, Contractor Says

    The Department of Energy relied on a flawed reading of a contract to justify its 2016 decision to take back some $20 million in fees from CB&I AREVA MOX Services, the company argued in the latest legal volley on an over-budget plutonium disposal plant being built in South Carolina. In a 2016 lawsuit filed in […]

  • S.C. Gov Wants Third-Party Cost Estimate for MFFF

    South Carolina’s governor and attorney general have asked the U.S. Energy Department to find a neutral third party to determine whether it would cost more to complete a controversial plutonium-disposal project at the Savannah River Site or cancel it. According to a letter dated Feb. 23, which subsequently leaked to the press, Gov. Henry McMaster […]

  • DOE Contractors Might Eye Commercial Decommissioning as Profit Margins Decline, Executive Says

    Declining profit margins, in some cases just 2 to 4 percent, are a major reason for the wave of mergers and acquisitions by companies that do business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup sector, a senior executive with one contractor said last week. These companies might also eye new opportunities in the commercial nuclear […]

  • DOE Justified MOX Project Fee Claw-Back With Bad Reading of Contract, Contractor Says

    The Department of Energy relied on a flawed reading of a contract to justify its 2016 decision to take back some $20 million in fees from CB&I AREVA MOX Services, the company argued in the latest legal volley on an over-budget plutonium disposal plant being built in South Carolina. In a 2016 lawsuit filed in […]

  • Declining Profit Margins Drive Mergers for DOE Contractors, Executive Says

    Declining profit margins, in some cases just 2 to 4 percent, are a major reason for the wave of mergers and acquisitions by companies that do business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup sector, a senior executive with one contractor said Thursday. The reduced margins are due in part to regulatory responsibilities and “claw-back” […]

  • EPA Says It’s Too Soon to Act on Plutonium Disposal at WIPP

    The Environmental Protection Agency told an official South Carolina nuclear-advisory body there is nothing the federal agency can do, for now, to prevent the Department of Energy from proceeding with its plan to cancel a multibillion-dollar nonproliferation project at the Savannah River Site in the state. That is according to a letter dated April 2 […]

  • EPA Says It’s Too Soon to Act on Plutonium Disposal at WIPP

    The Environmental Protection Agency told an official South Carolina nuclear-advisory body there is nothing the federal agency can do, for now, to prevent the Department of Energy from proceeding with its plan to cancel a multibillion-dollar nonproliferation project at the Savannah River Site in the state. That is according to a letter dated April 2 […]

  • Parties Want Hanford Vapor Trial Delayed Again

    The parties in the federal trial over Hanford vapors have requested an extension yet again, after failing to reach a settlement agreement before a deadline Monday for the plaintiffs to identify their expert witnesses. A joint motion requesting that Judge Thomas Rice delay the trial for a 10th time was filed Friday in U.S. District […]