Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received the first stage of a Holtec subsidiary’s two-part construction permit application for two small modular reactors (SMRs) at Palisaded nuclear power plant in Michigan. NRC is reviewing the application to see if it is complete. If so, the application will then be docketed for a detailed technical review […]

The Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is now a Department of Defense-approved industry partner, DOE said last week. The Pentagon’s SkillBridge program allows service members up to a six-month internship paid for by the Department of Defense, according to a Jan. 8 press release. “SkillBridge offers the perfect opportunity for […]

The Department of Energy and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have signed a renewed memorandum of understanding, joining efforts to develop a nuclear power reactor on the moon by 2030. The Tuesday interagency MOU affirms President Donald Trump administration’s space goals, outlined in the Dec. 18 executive order “Ensuring American Space Superiority”, and its […]

Reinhard Knerr, acting manager of the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Paducah Project Office (PPPO) in Lexington, Ky., is retiring from federal service, he told co-workers in a Tuesday email. “It is with bittersweet excitement that I am sharing my decision to leave federal service and take a postponed retirement on January 24,” Knerr said in […]

Nano Nuclear and Ameresco signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore collaborating to deploy Nano’s KRONOS microreactor at commercial and federal sites. Nano Nuclear is currently developing the KRONOS modular microreactor, which is made to be portable and produce up to 15 megawatts of electricity and 45 megawatts of thermal energy.  Ameresco, headquartered in […]

President Donald Trump told the New York Times that if a U.S.-Russia nuclear agreement “expires, it expires” and he would “just do a better agreement,” a statement the Union of Concerned Scientists thinks could be dangerous. The New Strategic Arms Reduction (New START) Treaty, signed in 2010 by then U.S. and Russian presidents Barack Obama […]

The U.S. Supreme Court Monday denied a petition by the advocacy group Beyond Nuclear seeking to challenge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license approval for a Holtec International Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF). Beyond Nuclear hoped the high court would invalidate an NRC license that would allow Holtec to construct an interim waste storage in […]

A Professional Project Services (Pro2Serve) subsidiary said Tuesday it has hired Steven Downing to be program director overseeing the company’s Technical Support Services contract at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth-Paducah Project Office (PPPO). Pro2Serve subsidiary Enterprise Technical Assistance Services (E-TAS) said in the release the company hired Downing, who was formerly with Battelle.  Downing, who […]

Northrop Grumman has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) target by using a decommissioned LGM-118 “MX” Peacekeeper ICBM’s SR119 second stage motor, the company said last week.  The second stage motor came from the Space Force’s Rocket Systems Launch Program.  The company makes components for the LGM-35A Sentinel future ICBM, as well as ICBM […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)  swore in its four board members Monday, restoring a quorum for the nine-member board. Nominated by President Donald Trump in July, Arthur Graham, Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood and Randall Jones were confirmed by the Senate among a bloc of nominations last month. They will now join TVA’s Board Chair Bill […]

Westinghouse Electric has selected Justin Johnson as executive vice president and chief legal officer following the retirement of Michael Sweeney. Westinghouse announced the appointment in a Jan. 6 press release. Sweeney is retiring after more than 20 years at Westinghouse and 15 as the company’s chief legal officer, Westinghouse said. Johnson joins Westinghouse from Jacobs, […]

The full Senate voted overwhelmingly Monday evening on the motion to invoke cloture, or end debate, on a fiscal 2026 appropriations minibus for the Department of Energy for various other agencies. The Senate voted 80-to-13 on the motion to invoke cloture and force a vote on H.R.  6938, the three-bill appropriations minibus for Energy Water […]

Standard Nuclear, which bills itself as a “reactor-agnostic” maker of advanced nuclear fuel, has received a shipment of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn, the company said last week. This makes Standard Nuclear the first company to get both Department of Energy authorization as well as physically receive HALEU […]

Tech giant Meta has announced a string of agreements with several nuclear companies to purchase up to 6,600 megawatts of new and existing capacity by the mid 2030s. On Jan. 9, Meta signed deals with Oklo, Vistra Corp. and TerraPower. These deals come after Constellation Energy signed a 20-year power purchase agreement last year with […]

An annual environmental report released last month on the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico shows the facility is complying with key regulatory standards for air and water, DOE said. The 2024 Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) for Los Alamos was released in December. The 300-page report shows the lab’s air […]

Lisa Burtenshaw was sworn in Jan. 8 as the new mayor of Idaho Falls, the city of 69,000 where the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is based. The swearing-in of the newly-elected Burtenshaw and other members of Idaho Falls City Council, was reported both by local news outlets and the city’s municipal website. The […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  January 26: Conference: Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit is set for Jan. 26 through 28 in Arlington, Va.  27: Meeting the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board meets starts at 9 a.m. Eastern Time at Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative, 4345 Trolley Line Road, […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has agreed to give the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office a 90-day extension to answer board questions about welding issues for containers at the Hanford Site at Richland, Wash. As a result, the DOE Office of Environmental Management will have until March 16 to address DNFSB questions […]

Tim Walsh, the head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, will headline the Feb. 10 House Cleanup Caucus session at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. Walsh, who became assistant secretary of energy for environmental management, in October, will make a presentation titled “Remediation to Redevelopment.” DOE nuclear cleanup properties […]

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), ranking member of the House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee, told the Exchange Monitor last week the most recent bipartisan spending minibus shows lawmakers “making progress” with more work still to do. On Jan. 8, a three-bill minibus appropriations package that included fiscal 2026 funds for Energy and Water development, including […]

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed an executive order Jan. 5 to establish a state nuclear energy task force. The Iowa Nuclear Energy Task Force will advise Reynolds,  the state government and relevant agencies on the development of nuclear energy technologies in the state, according to the press release. The task force will also explore […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) appointed two of its long-time staffers this week to serve in high-level management positions. NRC appointed Sabrina Atack as deputy executive director for reactor and preparedness programs and Caroline Carusone as deputy executive director for nuclear materials, administrative and corporate programs.  Both hirings are effective immediately according to NRC’s Tuesday […]

The state of Washington and the federal government have agreed to give the Department of Energy another six months to decide where to grout millions of gallons of less-radioactive tank waste from the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Washington state Department of Ecology have agreed the new […]

As of Dec. 31, 2025, the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site had filled 26 containers with glass converted from some of the site’s less-radioactive tank waste. DOE’s Hanford Site “has processed/poured 113 metric tons of glass,” a spokesperson for the Washington Department of Ecology, the state regulator, […]

A three-bill minibus appropriations bill that includes funds for Energy and Water development, including $25.4 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), entered debate Wednesday on the House floor. The bill was released by top appropriators in the Senate and House Monday on both sides of the aisle. Congress has until Jan. 30 to […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nuclear power’s expansion in the United States hinges upon a strong and independent regulator, witnesses told a House subcommittee Wednesday morning. Democratic lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy expressed misgivings about nuclear safety and the independence of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under President Donald Trump’s White House.  […]