Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The first North American-based small modular project is expected to be delayed and potentially go over budget. Ontario Power Generation (OPG), headquartered in Ontario, Canada, reported in its third quarter earnings results that Unit 1 of the Darlington New Nuclear Project is no longer expected to “achieve the previously disclosed commercial operation date target of […]

New developments in the Department of Energy’s $17.5 billion nuclear supply chain loans could be announced in the next few weeks and months, DOE’s Julie Kozeracki said at a Tuesday industry event. Kozeracki told an audience at the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s New Nuclear Capital event in New York City that DOE has been working […]

A recount in the middle of the night Wednesday confirmed the reelection of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), whose district abuts Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., according to local publication Post and Courier. Wilson fought off a challenge from 25-year-old Democrat Zyon Khalifa, who was just 2,840 votes from nearly unseating the senior congressman. The […]

House Republicans on Tuesday evening voted to block an attempt to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In a 211-204 vote, the House moved to refer Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) articles of impeachment against Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee rather than bring them up for a floor vote, effectively stalling the effort. Nevertheless, Democrats have signaled […]

Town halls to gather community input on the U.S. Air Force’s future LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by Northrop Grumman are to restart this month. The town halls will restart as the service prepares a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) brought on by the program’s 2024 Nunn-McCurdy critical cost breach and the resulting program […]

Westinghouse hired Dayan Abeyaratne to become the company’s chief commercial officer, succeeding Jacques Besnainou. Besnainou will move to an executive advisor role in a corresponding move. In Abeyaratne’s new position of chief commercial officer, he will lead Westinghouse’s “global new plant dealmaking and strategic external affairs,” according to the company’s Monday press release. Abeyaratne will […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant plans (WIPP) currently plans to begin a nearly six-month outage for waste hoist upgrades in July 2027, with work expected to finish in early January 2028, officials said during a Nov. 4 community forum. The work will include upgrades to the waste hoist control and electrical systems, […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) said Tuesday appointment letters have gone out to replacement members for a revamped Hanford Advisory Board (HAB) in Washington state. Meanwhile, the chair of EM’s Site-Specific Advisory Board for the Nevada National Security Site said the local advisory panel has been told it will be disbanded […]

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) urged industry members at a Tuesday event to engage with Congress following the midterm elections to continue domestic nuclear power’s current momentum. Fleischmann told the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s New Nuclear Capital event in New York City that nuclear power has gained bipartisan support in Congress over time and can continue […]

Fairbanks Morse Defense last week said it won a $99 million four-year contract to provide repair and parts for submarine Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) overhauls on six U.S. Navy submarines. The company and Navy did not specify which submarines will get the EDG overhauls. This award is part of the Navy’s mitigation strategy to extend […]

After completing X-energy’s environmental review in late October, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the advanced reactor company a construction permit for its four small modular reactor (SMR) project in Texas. This licensing action marks the first time in over 50 years a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor has won a construction permit, according to X-energy’s Monday press […]

The Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge, Tenn., has been qualified by the feds to make a “binary” alloy for the first time in 20 years that could help modernize the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said in a Nov. 5 press release that Y-12 has […]

The House of Representatives passed several nuclear energy-related bills Monday evening that address varying facets of the nuclear fuel cycle in an effort to streamline licensing and construct more nuclear capacity. On the first day back following the midterm election, six nuclear energy bills hit the House floor after advancing out of the House Energy […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Monday that contractors have broken ground on what will be a new 22,000-square-foot office center at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. NNSA and construction contractor Hensel Phelps broke ground Nov. 4 on the Savannah River Office Complex located in the Site’s H Area, […]

With the Democratic Party seizing the majority in Congress, coupled with retirements on both sides of the aisle, the Senate Appropriations Committee will look a lot different in January 2027 than it did a year earlier. Current Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) lost her re-election bid to political newcomer Troy Jackson (D) last week ending her […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors meeting scheduled for Tuesday could be the panel’s last meeting with a voting quorum for a while as two members’ face a ticking clock. TVA members Arthur Graham and Bobby Klein’s terms officially expired on May 18, but still serve on the board until the new congressional […]

The Canadian government proposes to spend C$518.5 million (US $367 million) over the next five years to grow its nuclear power output as a part of its Nuclear Energy Strategy. On Nov. 5, Canada released its proposed 2026 federal budget that covers its 2026-2027 fiscal year and outlines several multi-year funding projections and trends. Canada’s […]

Two senior Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, including a potential frontrunner for the panel’s top GOP role, have lost their reelection bids. Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio) had their races called by the Associated Press on Thursday Nov. 5, continuing a wave of top defense committee members voted out of […]

BURBANK, Calif. — Former National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Jill Hruby said the U.S. government needs to rebuild its understanding of nuclear weapons’ effects as it weighs deterrence in a changing strategic environment involving Russia, China and other nuclear-armed states. At the third annual Outrider Nuclear Media Summit, held Oct. 22-23 at Warner Bros. Studios, […]

Baton Rouge, La.-based APTIM said Nov. 3 that it has selected Chuck Prow as its new chairman and CEO effective Monday Nov. 9. Prow is succeeding Mark Fallon, who has headed APTIM since April 2020. Fallon is stepping down “to pursue other ventures,” APTIM said in last week’s announcement. Prow most recently served as CEO […]

The Department of Energy said Friday it is seeking offers from ventures interested in developing energy or advanced manufacturing or computing projects on up to 3,700 acres of available land at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) announced a request for offer (RFO) on Hanford land in a Friday […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  NOVEMBER: 10: Meeting: All-day session in New York City, sponsored by the Nuclear Industry Council and J.P. Morgan, on New Nuclear Capital is sold out for in-person sessions. But virtual tickets are still available.  10: Meeting: The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management […]

The Department of Energy’s National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) and Purdue University’s Applied Research Institute have agreed to work together on new technologies aimed at lowering construction costs. The collaboration will take place under NRIC’s Advanced Construction Technology Initiative, a program designed to demonstrate advanced reactor construction technologies and techniques, according to DOE’s Nov. 5 […]

As the House of Representatives returns to session on Nov. 9, the full chamber is expected to vote on several nuclear energy-related bills early in the week. The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the six nuclear bills out of the full committee in overwhelming bipartisan fashion in September. According to the House’s schedule, the […]

Amentum and Japan-based Kyoto Fusioneering have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to pursue commercial fusion production across Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. According to Amentum’s Tuesday press release, the MOU will create a framework for international coordination and have the two companies explore opportunities across major public and private fusion programs. […]

The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) Wednesday gave its rundown on likely key committee leadership in the House and Senate when the Democratic Party majority takes the reins of Congress in January. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which oversees Department of Energy programs and development on public lands is apt to be led […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The National Nuclear Security Administration is exploring changes to its acquisition practices that could make it easier for commercial companies and firms without extensive NNSA experience to compete for work. B.J. Quigley, NNSA’s senior procurement executive, said at the Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association’s (ETEBA) annual conference last week the agency […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, wants small and mid-sized U.S. businesses to help rapidly rebuild the agency’s nuclear production infrastructure, calling the effort a “national security imperative” amid sweeping modernization across the enterprise. Speaking at the Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association’s (ETEBA) annual conference last week, Williams […]

The same momentum that saw Democrats take control of the House and Senate, helped the party win most governorships in play during Tuesday’s election.  As of Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press projects that the Democratic Party will gain five states on the gubernatorial level. While the election results are unofficial, Democrats are expected to have […]

By 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday most major national news outlets had declared that the Democratic Party had won control of both the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the Senate. CBS News reported early Wednesday morning that Democrats were seemingly assured of at least 54 seats in the Senate and around 250 in […]