Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing
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Innovation & Infrastructure
WIPP batteries earmarked for mine fire research
Three large Lithium-Ion batteries from the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), near Carlsbad, N.M., are being shipped to Pittsburgh where government researchers will study potential mine-fire risks. DOE and WIPP prime Salado Isolation Mining Contractors have reached an Inter-Agency Agreement with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The batteries […]
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Contracts & Procurement
NNSA eyes 2027 RFQ for TEST 4 technical support contract
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The National Nuclear Security Administration expects to release a draft request for quotations (RFQ) for its Technical and Engineering Program Support 4 contract, or TEST 4, in January 2027, with the agency targeting contract performance beginning later that year. B.J. Quigley, NNSA’s senior procurement executive, said at the Energy Technology and Environmental […]
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Budget & Policy
Parsons CFO Ofilos to resign, former CFO interim successor
Parsons Corp. Chief Financial Officer Matt Ofilos will resign Nov. 6 to pursue another professional opportunity, with former CFO George Ball returning on an interim basis as the company searches for a permanent successor. Ofilos’ resignation is not related to any disagreement with Parsons over the company’s operations, policies or practices, the company said Oct. […]
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Budget & Policy
Fleischmann expects passage of 2027 E&W bill by Dec. 11
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) told federal contractors and industry members here that he still expects the Energy and Water Development bill for fiscal 2027 to pass before Dec. 11. Fleischmann, who wrote the most recent energy and water appropriations bill, doubled down on his predicted passage of the bill Wednesday after he […]
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News & Analysis
Walsh: New Mexico, WIPP deal getting closer
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — The Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management (EM) Tim Walsh said here Wednesday the nuclear cleanup branch is drawing closer to a deal with New Mexico over state permit modifications for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. “So, we completed our mediation and it’s just with our […]
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Data Centers & Energy Demand
Reindustrialization becoming larger focus of DOE EM’s future, Walsh says
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With one year under his belt as Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management (EM), Tim Walsh remains bullish about tapping remediated land at government nuclear installations for redevelopment. . Walsh, joined by the principal deputy assistant secretary, or EM-2, Joel Bradburne, kicked off the Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association’s […]
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Vitrification & Grout
TSCR has big run in September, pretreating 222,000 gallons
The tank waste pretreatment system at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state set a record in September by removing cesium from 222,000 gallons of low-level liquid radioactive waste, DOE announced Tuesday.. The Tank-Side Cesium-Removal (TSCR) system started operation in 2022. TSCR is set up to filter out cesium and undissolved solids from […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Pantex selects new chief technology officer
PanTeXas Deterrence LLC (PXD), the management and operating contractor for the Pantex Plant, has selected Emily Hunt as its first chief technology officer, creating a new executive role focused on modernization and research. Hunt will serve as Pantex’s lead scientist and oversee the plant’s long-term technology and innovation strategy, including efforts to expand research and […]
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News & Analysis
DOE provides up to $5 billion in a conditional loan to Constellation for power plant uprates
Constellation Energy was issued a conditional loan by the Department of Energy of up to $5 billion dollars to increase its operating reactor fleet capacity by 1,100 megawatts. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and DOE’s Energy Dominance Financing Director Gregory Beard made the announcement at Constellation’s Byron Clean Energy Center in Ogle County, Ill. Tuesday […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
WIPP contractor taps new communications director
The Department of Energy’s prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., has hired Patrick Hefflinger as its new head of communications. Bechtel-led Salado Isolation Mining Contractors announced Hefflinger’s appointment in a Monday news release. Hefflinger, who has more than 15 years in the field, comes to WIPP after being a […]
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Defense & Military
Navy picks SSN-788 as first sub posted to AUKUS assignment
The Pentagon said Monday it picked the USS Colorado (SSN-788) to be the first U.S. Navy Virginia-class attack submarine assigned to Submarine Rotation Force West (SRF-West), marking the next step in the AUKUS submarine process, starting in late 2027. SRF-West aims to help Australia prepare to ultimately operate, maintain and support its own nuclear-powered and […]
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Transuranic Waste
Next WIPP operations public meeting set for Nov. 4
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., will hold its next public meeting on Wednesday Nov. 4. The New Mexico Environment Department has proposed modifying WIPP’s state operating permit for the second time in four years. The state and DOE have been in talks about the issue. WIPP, managed for […]
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Contracts & Procurement
BWXT, Antares deepen partnership with new multi-year TRISO fuel agreement
BWX Technologies’ (BWXT) subsidiary, BWXT Advanced Fuels, will supply tri-structural – or TRISO – fuel to Antares Nuclear under a new multi-year agreement, the companies said Tuesday. Under this contract, BWXT will provide an initial supply of one metric ton of uranium of TRISO fuel to Antares. If Antares reactor deployment continues to grow, then […]
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Defense & Military
Fairbanks Morse Defense starts building sub component site with AUKUS investment
Fairbanks Morse Defense last week broke ground on a $60 million manufacturing facility that will increase production on Virginia-class naval propulsion components funded in part from international AUKUS funds. The company on Oct. 20 broke ground on the third Center of Excellence at the existing Bird-Johnson Propeller Company facility in Pascagoula, Miss., which it said […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
NRC issues final EIS for GLE’s planned Paducah enrichment facility
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the final environmental impact statement for Global Laser Enrichment’s (GLE) proposed laser enrichment facility located near the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky. According to GLE’s Oct. 23 press release, NRC staff recommended issuing a license to construct and operate the facility. This issuance comes months after NRC published […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE still working on new Hanford Advisory Board
While it missed the start of the 2027 fiscal year, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is still working on appointing a new slate of members to the Hanford Advisory Board (HAB) for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. “The membership package for DOE’s Hanford Advisory Board continues to make its way through […]
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News & Analysis
NNSA, nuclear cleanup execs among headliners at Knoxville conference
The Department of Energy’s heads of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Office of Environmental Management will headline the Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association (ETEBA) annual Business Opportunities and Technical Conference at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, Tenn. this week. The annual conference will feature NNSA administrator Brandon Williams and Office of […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Fluor Marine Propulsion awarded $2.4B naval nuclear propulsion contract mod
Fluor Marine Propulsion has received a $2.4 billion contract modification for work supporting the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program at the Naval Nuclear Laboratory, according to the Defense Department. The $2.409 billion cost-plus-fixed-fee modification, awarded Sept. 24 and announced by the Pentagon Oct. 23, modifies previously awarded contract N0002418C2130. The work will support Naval Nuclear Propulsion […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Fall earnings season gets underway for publicly traded nuclear companies
Public companies involved in supporting nuclear power, cleanup and security will be reporting financial earnings over the next couple of weeks. If recent earnings calls provide any clues there could be discussion of policy at the Department of Energy, its National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Defense. Macro-economic trends […]
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Budget & Policy
GAO: NNSA workforce shrank nearly 12% amid nuclear modernization push
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) federal workforce fell nearly 12% as the agency’s workload reached its highest level since the Cold War, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. NNSA’s federal workforce declined by 236 employees, from 1,991 in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to 1,755 in the second quarter of […]
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International
Finnish government greenlights Posiva to operate the world’s first spent fuel repository
Finnish spent fuel management company Posiva Oy was granted an operating license on Oct. 22 for the encapsulation and its final disposal facility, Onkalo, for spent nuclear fuel in Olkiluoto, Finland, the company said. The decision was approved by the government following a favorable safety assessment issued by Finland’s nuclear regulator, the Radiation and Nuclear […]
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Budget & Policy
SRS prime investing more in NNSA, DOE research
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the joint prime contractor for Savannah River Site, is expanding research and development investments at the Savannah River Site with aims to accelerate technology development supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) missions. SRNS’ Office of Innovation is directing research investments across the site and coordinating work with national laboratories, […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
NRC finalizes DOE, Pentagon-authorized reactor regulatory path
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has finalized the rule to create a more uniform regulatory pathway for commercializing Department of Energy and Pentagon-approved reactor designs. Originally proposed in April, the final rule is designed to allow NRC to leverage other agencies’ data and information regarding the reactor designs in its own regulatory review process. The rule […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
As Walsh completes first year; EM cites cleanup, revitalization work
A little more than a year after Tim Walsh became the Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management (EM) the $8-billion office has reached key milestones in both nuclear cleanup and laying groundwork for future nuclear power, DOE said last week. Walsh was confirmed by the Senate on Oct. 7, 2025, the DOE Environmental […]
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Defense & Military
Radiant picked to supply microreactor for Naval Weapons Station Crane
The United States Navy selected El Segundo, Calif.-based Radiant Nuclear’s microreactor technology to power Naval Weapons Station in Crane, Ind., the company said Tuesday. The Navy previously announced in September that Naval Weapons Station in Crane would be the service’s first naval microreactor installation. Radiant will work with the Navy, Army, Defense Innovation Unit, Nuclear […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
EM boss Walsh to discuss South Carolina nuclear future
The Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management Tim Walsh is scheduled to visit the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative on the campus of the University of South Carolina-Aiken Thursday to highlight the “Nuclear Renaissance in the Southeast.” According to a DOE announcement, Walsh is expected to discuss the Savannah River Site’s role in America’s nuclear […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Startup proposes 6,600 megawatt nuclear project in eastern Kentucky
The Nuclear Company, a startup project developer, is eyeing Lewis County, Ky. as its site for a planned 6,600-megawatt power plant that would use six of Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactors. The Prosperity One Nuclear Campus would have up to six AP1000 reactors, with the initial phase of it beginning with two units, The Nuclear Company said […]
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Defense & Military
Northrop Grumman posts solid third quarter results
Northrop Grumman on Tuesday posted higher sales and net income in its third quarter driven by top-line gains across its businesses and bottom-line increases in three of them. Net income rose 2% to just over $1.12 billion, $7.89 earnings per share (EPS), from $1.1 billion (7.67 EPS) a year ago, handily beating consensus estimates of […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Westinghouse to construct $1 billion LEU+ fuel facility in South Carolina
Westinghouse has made plans to put $1 billion into constructing an advanced nuclear fuel factory at its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. Cranberry Township, Penn.-based Westinghouse said Wednesday the proposed fuel factory will produce low enriched uranium plus (LEU+) fuel to support its AP1000 reactor fleet. It hopes to have the new facility […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Fort Benning begins site planning for three Janus microreactors
The Army has begun site planning for three nuclear microreactors at Fort Benning, Ga., as an early step toward deploying the systems under its Janus energy resilience program. Fort Benning hosted an initial Janus Program site visit Oct. 16 with Army planners, officials from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, […]

















