Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

Robert (Bob) Alvarez, a former Senate staffer, 1990s Department of Energy official and nuclear watchdog, died July 1 following a years-long battle with Parkinson’s disease, according to published reports. The Institute for Policy Studies and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published remembrances of Alvarez in recent days. “Bob won a Lifetime Achievement Award in […]

The House Appropriations’ Energy & Water subcommittee is proposing a $7.7-billion budget for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management in fiscal 2026. That is according to the July 13 House Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. A summary of the legislation is here and the bill text is here. The […]

Nuclear energy spending would receive a boost in fiscal 2026 legislation laid out July 13 by the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water subcommittee. In the proposed House Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations subcommittee bill, the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy would receive $1.795 billion, which is $110 million more […]

Brian Vance, the Department of Energy’s former manager of nuclear cleanup at the Hanford Site in Washington state has reportedly accepted an executive position with the Framatome nuclear fuel plant in Richland, Wash. The Tri-City Herald reported Monday Vance started working as a manager for the Framatome fuel manufacturing plant July 9. The newspaper said […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently accepted for review the Tennessee Valley Authority’s construction permit application for the Clinch River nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.  NRC told TVA in a July 9 letter it has completed the acceptance review for the second part of the construction permit application. The regulator previously completed the first half […]

The House Armed Service’s starting version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would authorize $25.4 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and establish a New Advanced Nuclear Energy Working Group. The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) will mark up the bill at 10 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday, July 15 in Rayburn House […]

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) voted against David Wright’s re-nomination to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week citing concerns that NRC is losing its independence.  Wright’s nomination passed out of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in a 10 to 9 vote on July 9.  All of the Republicans on the committee voted yes, […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office could issue a draft solicitation as early as next month for a contractor to perform landlord services at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The draft request for proposals (RFP)  for the Portsmouth Infrastructure Support Services could be issued in August, the DOE Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center in […]

July: 15: Hearing: House Armed Services Committee will mark up H.R. 3838, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2025 starting at 10 a.m. The markup will be streamed online. 16: Virtual meeting: The Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board for Northern New Mexico meets online starting at 1 p.m. Mountain Time.  22: Meeting: A meeting […]

TerraPower awarded three U.S. based supplier contracts Wednesday in an effort to support its advanced nuclear project in Kemmerer, Wyo. The Bill Gates-backed advanced nuclear company based in Bellevue, Wash. said this was the fifth round of procurement awards for the Kemmerer Natrium project, according to its Wednesday press release. The suppliers that were awarded […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Timothy Walsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be assistant secretary of energy for environmental management, or EM-1, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday his military and business background has prepared him to lead the world’s largest nuclear cleanup. An Army veteran and company commander in the 82nd Airborne Division […]

Vistra Corp’s Perry Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 operating license has been renewed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission through November 2046. The 1,268-megawatt nuclear plant in Perry, Ohio is a single-unit plant. The plant first began operation in 1986 and is currently operating under its initial 40-year license. Perry was initially planned to be a […]

The Senate on Environment and Public Works Committee voted 10 to 9 along party lines Wednesday to advance the re-nomination of David Wright to be a commissioner on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. With the slim passing of Wright’s re-nomination, he will be due to go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote at a […]

President Donald Trump signed into law last week the massive reconciliation bill that would appropriate millions in extra funds to the National Nuclear Security Administration. The funds, part of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” that includes $150 billion for defense purposes, would be available in fiscal 2025 through the end of fiscal 2029. The National […]

The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday said the White House can go ahead with plans for major layoffs and restructuring of the federal government while legal challenges play out, according to media reports. The Washington Post  and other media outlets reported Tuesday afternoon that the high court elected not to block planning for mass layoffs at […]

Several nuclear and energy groups urged Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Tuesday to undertake federal action to address the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle in the United States. The Nuclear Energy Institute, Energy Communities Alliance, Nuclear Industry Council, American Nuclear Society, Decommissioning Plant Coalition, Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition, National Association of Regulatory Utility […]

The Bonneville Power Administration, a regional authority for the Department of Energy, and DOE’s Office of Environmental Management have flipped the switch on a major new 18-mile electric transmission line at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The new 230-kilovolt transmission line connects two substations at the nuclear cleanup site and replaces an 80-year-old line, […]

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed two bills into law last week designed to further nuclear research and deployment in the state. Senate Bill 124, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 11, will create a board to advance in-state nuclear power and fusion technology and host a Wisconsin nuclear summit. Senate Bill 125, now 2025 Wisconsin Act […]

Montreal-based AtkinsRéalis said recently Chief Operating Office Philip Hoare is leaving the company this summer to pursue other opportunities and his exit leads to the return of a former AtkinsRéalis executive. On Aug. 23, Louis Véronneau will return to AtkinsRéalis and succeed Hoare as chief operating officer, the company announced in a June 17 press […]

Several publicly-traded companies doing business within the Department of Energy weapons complex are scheduled to report earnings in the coming weeks. Here is a rundown of currently scheduled earnings releases and conference calls.  Fluor, Irving, Texas, is scheduled to report its financial performance for the quarter ending June 30 on Aug. 1. Fluor will webcast […]

U.S. Navy shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and enterprise AI application software company C3.ai, Inc. have expanded their partnership aimed at accelerating shipbuilding throughput. In a June 30 announcement, the companies said the new agreement expands their preexisting partnership to now integrate artificial intelligence (AI) solutions across shipbuilding operations like planning, operations, supply chain, labor […]

The Virginia Department of Energy this week announced plans to explore deployment of an advanced nuclear reactor in southwest Virginia, which is the state’s traditional coal mining region.  “Southwest Virginia has powered our Commonwealth for generations, and now we have the chance to invest in that legacy with the technologies of the future,” Gov. Glenn […]

Global Laser Enrichment has submitted its full license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility in Paducah, Ky., the company said last week. The Wilmington, N.C. based company that licenses laser enrichment technology owned by Australia’s Silex Systems recently filed in its safety analysis report to complete its full license […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has asked the Department of Energy for a briefing on plans to refurbish an old shaft and hoist relied upon for emergency evacuation of underground workers at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). “Despite long-standing recognition of underlying problems, age-related degradation and technical obsolescence issues with the shafts […]

The House last Thursday voted 218-214 to pass the massive reconciliation bill with $150 billion for defense that the Pentagon has built into its fiscal year 2026 spending plans. After consideration of the tax and spending bill went through the night in the lower chamber, the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed by President Trump […]

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency departed from Iran on July 4 to return to headquarters in Vienna, the agency said on website X that day. The inspectors had been in Tehran “throughout the recent military conflict,” the post said. The agency’s director general Rafael Grossi also “reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA […]