Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

A federal judge in Northern California has extended her earlier order that temporarily blocked the White House Office of Management and Budget from furloughing thousands of government employees, including many from the Department of Energy, during the shutdown, according to published reports. News outlets, including CNBC reported U.S. District Judge Susan Illston was issuing a […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) hopes Brandon Williams, the newly confirmed administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, will prioritize a list of safety challenges that the board wrote him about last month. “Congratulations on your confirmation as Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)!” the nation’s nuclear safety watchdog started its […]

After a competitive bid process, Santee Cooper has approved Brookfield Asset Management’s proposal to complete the two partially built AP1000 reactors at the Virgil C. Summer nuclear site in Jenkinsville, S.C. This move comes as the board of directors at the South Carolina state-owned utility approved the proposal among other key energy projects last week. […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Tuesday its Los Alamos National Laboratory selected tech companies Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and NVIDIA to develop and deploy two new supercomputers. The two computers, named “Mission” and “Vision,” will be used for modeling and simulations at the lab.  “Mission” will be used to assist NNSA research without […]

NextEra Energy has reached a 25-year power-purchase agreement with Google to support restart of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, NextEra said Monday. The 615-megawatt boiling water reactor closed in 2020. Provided the government approvals are secured, NextEra Energy hopes to have it up and running again in the first quarter of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public opinion on the draft environmental impact statement for TRISO-X’s special nuclear material license application for its proposed fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Public comments on the draft environmental review are due by Nov. 17, according to NRC’s Oct. 23 notice published in the Federal Register. TRISO-X, […]

​​Fermi America signed nuclear energy-related deals with two South Korean companies in an effort to advance development of planned Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, the Texas-based company said Monday.  The privately owned Fermi America entered into an agreement with Doosan Enerbility to start forging production of “long-lead-time nuclear equipment”, such as reactor pressure vessels and steam generators, […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office expects to extend by up to a year the Deactivation and Remediation contract held by Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership at the Paducah Site in Kentucky. According to an online procurement notice from late June, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management expects to extend the contract period up to 12 […]

As Tim Walsh, the new Department of Energy assistant secretary for Environmental Management, settles into his office, he will find a letter from a federal watchdog about old equipment and ongoing safety concerns within the DOE nuclear complex. Walsh was sworn in to head the $8-billion nuclear cleanup office on Thursday Oct. 23 after being […]

Liquid waste treatment, plutonium down-blending, and other work at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina have not yet been affected yet by the federal shutdown, according to a DOE spokesperson. Questions about potential impacts at the 310-square-mile site were initially sent to SRS offices near Aiken, S.C. before being directed […]

Christine Wormuth, most recently the Secretary of the Army, will be the Washington-based nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative’s (NTI) newest president and third chief executive officer effective Nov. 17, the organization announced last week. “NTI’s mission to reduce global nuclear, biological, and emerging technology threats is more vital than ever,” Wormuth said in NTI’s release, adding […]

General Dynamics (GD) last Friday reported strong third quarter financial results largely due to its Marine Systems segment, continuing a sturdy run of top and bottom-line gains all year. The shipbuilding segment, up 14%  and 13% respectively on the top and bottom-lines, benefited from construction of the Navy’s Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine and Virginia-class attack […]

Energy Northwest has selected a team made up of Kiewit Nuclear Solutions, Black and Veatch and Aecon to complete planning and construction of four small modular reactors at its proposed project near Richland, Wash.  According to Energy Northwest’s Oct. 23 press release, the joint venture, called Cascade Nuclear Partners, will work collaboratively on the first […]

Amid the government shutdown, the annual Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association (ETEBA) conference in Knoxville, Tenn. will focus heavily on the industry players this year. ETEBA’s 26th Business Opportunities and Technical Conference kicks off Tuesday evening with a couple of sessions. The event at the Knoxville, Tenn. Convention Center runs through Thursday, Oct. 30.   […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  (With the federal shutdown still in effect at press time it is advisable to double-check with sponsors to see if government-related speakers/events are still scheduled. ) October 27: CANCELLED: The Congressional Nuclear Security Working Group is canceling for now the discussion on […]

Following a large-scale demonstration completed in September, Global Laser Enrichment said last week an independent third-party has confirmed its uranium enrichment system has reached level 6 of technology readiness. “In plain language, this independent validation means that GLE has demonstrated large-scale, integrated system performance under relevant operational conditions and that our schedule for initial commercial […]

House lawmakers condemned the furloughs of 1,400 of DOE’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) workers in a letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and NNSA administrator Brandon Williams. “As Secretary Wright noted in his press availability in Las Vegas, furloughing NNSA employees has never happened before. Government shutdowns, however, have occurred throughout the […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Deputy Director in Region IV Division of Operating Reactor Safety Nick Taylor has announced on his LinkedIn he will retire from the agency by Oct. 31. After his retirement, Taylor said he will begin a new job at Abilene, Texas-based nuclear startup Natura Resources, according to his Oct. 21 LinkedIn post.  […]

The Congressional Nuclear Security Working Group and Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center (ANWA) postponed a Monday meeting at the Capitol with Brandon Williams, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration. “Due to the federal government shutdown, the planned Discussion with The Honorable Brandon Williams and Dr. Richard Tighe [CEO of Consolidated Nuclear Security, the […]

Work crews at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina are starting what DOE dubs a “leak-tightness” test on its fifth super-sized saltstone disposal unit (SDU) at the federal complex near Aiken, S.C. Starting Monday, Oct. 27, environmental contractor Savannah River Mission Completion will start running the test on SDU-10, DOE said […]

BWX Technologies (BWXT) said this week it has hired Bill Walker as its vice president, government and stakeholder relations in Canada. It is a newly-created position, according to BWXT. A three-term member of the Provincial Parliament and deputy speaker of the Ontario Legislature, Walker has more than 30 years of experience in  government, energy and not-for-profit […]

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) introduced a bill Tuesday that pushes for more oversight and public accountability for how nuclear power plants use their decommissioning funds. Lawler’s bill, Reactor Expenditure Accountability and Compliance Transparency (REACT), directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to require nuclear plant licensees to provide more detailed and transparent reporting in their financial assurance […]

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) reintroduced a bill last week that would order the Department of Energy (DOE) to study the viability of domestic nuclear fuel recycling. In the Senate bill, Advancing Research in Nuclear Fuel Recycling Act of 2025, the energy secretary is instructed to analyze the practicality, benefits, costs and […]

Fueled by its Defense Systems and Mission Systems segments, Northrop Grumman, which is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, Tuesday reported strong third quarter results wherein earnings rose Net earnings for the third quarter, ended Sept. 30 and listed in the company’s 10-Q form, were $1.1 billion, up from $1.026 year-over-year. Net income rose 7% […]

Already offline for most of 2025, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, will remain out of service until early 2026, a DOE spokesperson said this week. After DOE and Amentum-led contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition returned the facility to operation July 17, the facility shut down five days […]

The ranking member of the House Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee on Tuesday reported the Australian officials are “buoyant and bullish” about AUKUS moving forward following a Monday meeting between President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) also thinks an ongoing Pentagon review of the submarine agreement is probably focused […]