Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The Pentagon’s ongoing review of guidance for employing nuclear weapons is drawing scrutiny over whether it could expand the role of lower-yield and theater nuclear weapons in regional conflicts. The review, described by Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby at an August conference as a “relook” at nuclear weapons employment guidance, is focused on […]

Atlanta-based Georgia Power plans to uprate its Vogtle and Hatch plants in Georgia through a new agreement with Google, the utility said Monday. The two entities’ agreement, which is subject to approval by the Georgia Public Service Commission, would support uprates that would bring about 96 megawatts to the electric grid, according to the Georgia […]

The Hanford Site’s Tank-side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system is back in operation for the first time since February, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said in a Sept. 15 press release. DOE contractor Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure (H2C) suspended operations Feb. 25 because Tank AP-106 was too full to take more […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The head of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office in Richland, Wash., said at a conference here last week it would be feasible to treat 80% of the Hanford Site’s underground tank waste by 2040. Hanford Field Office Manager Ray Geimer made the remark during a Sept. 15 panel discussion during […]

Northrop Grumman has opened a new manufacturing facility in Utah as the Air Force increases B-21 Raider production capacity, backed by billions of dollars in procurement funding for the next-generation nuclear-capable bomber. The company opened its 845,000-square-foot East Gate 3 facility in Layton, Utah, Sept. 9., according to a company release. The expansion brings Northrop’s […]

South Korea-based Samsung C&T Engineering & Construction Group (Samsung C&T) made a strategic investment of up to $100 million in Kairos Power, the companies said in a Monday press release. According to the release, the $100 million will be made up of a “direct investment and in-kind engineering services,” which will be subject to regulatory […]

Bechtel and TerraPower have parted ways on the Natrium reactor project in Kemmerer, Wyo. after failing to come to an agreement on the next stages, according to public disclosure papers filed in Virginia. The news was included in a Sept. 15 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notification, in which Bechtel informed Fairfax County […]

Senate and House Democratic appropriators seek more clarity from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Chair Ho Nieh on the recent overarching changes at the agency initiated by President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14300. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), respective ranking members of the Senate and House Energy and Water Development Appropriations subcommittees, […]

JRC Integrated Systems is receiving a $47.4 million contract modification to provide technical and engineering support for the Navy’s Nuclear-armed, Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N) program through 2030. The $47,393,736 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification, which includes optional line items, was awarded by Strategic Systems Programs under previously awarded contract N0003026C7001, according to the Pentagon’s contracts page on Sept. […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  September: 22: Hybrid Meeting: Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board meets starting at 9 a.m. Eastern Time at Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative, 4345 Trolley Line Road, Aiken, South Carolina 29801. 23: Hybrid meeting: The West Valley Citizen Task Force meets starting at 6:30 […]

The Department of Energy’s environmental contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has started building its final supersized Saltstone Disposal Unit (SDU) at the nuclear property near Aiken, S.C. Like its half-dozen jumbo-sized SDU predecessors, SDU-12 will be 43 feet high, 375 feet in diameter, and have a total capacity of 34.5 million […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in a Wednesday hearing will take its turn to discuss recent developments in the United States efforts to close the back end of the fuel cycle. The hearing will be at 10 a.m. in Room 406 in the Senate Dirksen Office Building in Washington, D.C. This Senate committee […]

The Virginia State Corporation Commission has added two new  in-person hearings in November to hear more from the public about NextEra Energy’s proposal to merge with Dominion Energy. The commission previously ordered a hearing to discuss the proposed $67 billion merger between the two utility holding companies on Nov. 5. However, it announced Sept. 9 […]

Congressional Democrats have introduced a resolution seeking to block a U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation agreement, citing concerns about uranium enrichment and limits on international inspections. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, along with Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), and Don Beyer (D-Va.), introduced the joint resolution […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) should use private-sector investment and technology to expand inertial confinement fusion capabilities for nuclear weapons research, according to a Washington Post op-ed published Sept. 17. Abigail Remler, an adviser to the Special Competitive Studies Project, and David Feith, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, argue that NNSA could […]

The Department of Energy is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from vendors that could potentially help recover valuable critical materials from nuclear cleanup sites. DOE expects it can reclaim rare earth elements and other materials important to industry from Cold War and Manhattan Project sites overseen by the department’s Office of Environmental Management, according to […]

The state of Tennessee, the United Kingdom and the federally owned utility Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have agreed to work together on bringing commercial fusion energy online. According to the Monday announcement, the three entities will additionally collaborate to work on fusion supply chain needs, workforce development and a regulatory pathway that could scale the […]

ARLINGTON, Va. – Someone who mistakenly stumbled into the Department of Energy’s National Cleanup Workshop without an agenda might be excused for confusing it with a conference on artificial intelligence (AI). Many conversations from the podium and in the hallways here this week have focused to some extent on the potential and perils of AI. […]

Senate and House Democratic appropriators are seeking answers from Secretary of Energy Chris Wright over Project Velocity, a DOE effort to revise operating directives at national laboratories and nuclear security sites. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), ranking members of the Senate and House Energy and Water Development Appropriations subcommittees, said in […]

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is working to continue navigating the management of Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste through recent rulemaking, Commissioner Matthew Marzano said Wednesday here. The NRC Commissioner opened up the third and final day of the Nuclear Cleanup Workshop with a keynote address focused on the agency in the […]

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The ground support segment for the future LGM-35A intercontinental ballistic missile by Northrop Grumman “has really turned the corner,” U.S. Air Force Gen. Dale White, direct reporting portfolio manager for critical major weapon systems, told reporters here Monday. The Pentagon may undertake a re-certification of Sentinel for engineering and manufacturing development […]

ARLINGTON, Va. – Legislation challenges, particularly the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), could pose a potential roadblock to the full implementation of the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, a Department of Energy official said. During Wednesday’s session at the National Cleanup Workshop, several panels discussed the early progress of the innovation campuses. Marla […]

The Navy awarded General Dynamics Mission Systems a $194.1 million contract modification to support development of the fire control subsystem for its nuclear-armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N) program. The Sept. 3 award provides $194.1 million in engineering and technical support for the SLCM-N Fire Control Subsystem, according to the Pentagon’s contract announcement. Work is expected […]

ARLINGTON, Va. – Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) told the National Cleanup Workshop here on Wednesday he expects the Energy & Water Development bill for fiscal 2027 to pass during the so-called “lame duck” session after Congress returns following the November election. Fleischmann, a member of the House Appropriation Committee, chairs the Energy & Water subcommittee […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., will spend about half of 2027 down for maintenance, DOE and contractor officials told the National Cleanup Workshop here Tuesday. WIPP will be essentially offline and not receiving waste for two three-month cycles during 2027, said Ken Harrawood, president and […]

ARLINGTON, Va. – The anticipated expansion of missions and private-sector projects around Savannah River Site could require the surrounding region to build as many as 17,000 homes over the next five years, according to a local official here Tuesday. Chuck Smith, a former city councilman in Aiken, S.C. where Savannah River Site (SRS) is located, […]