The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Tuesday issued the much-anticipated draft solution for management and operation of the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina.
The draft request for proposals (RFP) said bidders will be encouraged to offer updated technical approaches to making plutonium pits at the complex.
According to a Jan. 27 procurement document, NNSA expects to issue the final RFP by the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2026, which would translate to the end of March.
DOE’s semiautonomous NNSA is now the landlord for the federal complex in Aiken, S.C., having taken over that role from its DOE sister entity, the Office of Environmental Management.
Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has had the current multi-billion-dollar prime contract for SRS since 2008. The contract’s current end date is Sept. 30, 2026, with the option to extend until Sept. 30, 2027. A link to NNSA’s Tuesday notice is available here.
“One of the largest projects at SRS is the design, construction, and eventual operation of the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF),” according to one of the procurement documents. “Currently, the design- and construction–related scope of the SRPPF project are performed under the SRS M&O contractor’s construction management subcontract.”
That subcontract is held by SRNS parent, Fluor.
“NNSA has elected to seek alternative solutions for performance” of the SRPPF project “through the upcoming RFP,” according to a procurement document. “Offerors will be requested to submit a technical approach for the project to accelerate completion.”