Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee could vote Wednesday morning on whether to advance the nomination of Colorado developer Tim Walsh to be assistant secretary of energy for Environmental Management. The business meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time at 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. Barring a postponement, the committee […]

A federal district judge in Texas has agreed to suspend proceedings until Sept. 29 in a lawsuit by Texas, Utah and Last Energy that challenges Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing for small reactors. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle issued the latest extension in the case June 30 at the request of the parties. “Since the […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: July: 28: Senate could vote on nomination of David Wright to serve on another term on Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 29: Quarterly update by the Tennessee Valley Authority starts at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.  30:  Waste Isolation Pilot Plant community forum available online starting […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee will meet on July 31 to mark up its version of the fiscal year 2026 defense spending bill. The panel’s markup follows the Senate Armed Services Committee’s recent approval of its version of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included adding a $32 billion topline increase. Both the […]

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is starting market research to find an “innovative missile defense launcher” and support equipment technologies that could be delivered within two years as part of the Golden Dome initiative. A Request For Information (RFI) published last week said the agency is seeking responses encompassing system-level, component-level, upgrades to existing systems, […]

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) recently appointed executives from Dominion Energy and BWX Technologies to the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority. The selection of Eric Carr, Dominion’s president of nuclear operations and chief nuclear officer, and Scott Kopple, BWXT’s senior director of government relations was announced in a July 18 press release. The nuclear authority […]

If the Pentagon decides to increase production of the U.S. Air Force’s new B-21 stealth bomber it will require further investment by Northrop Grumman, which expects higher returns for early production aircraft, CEO Kathy Warden said Tuesday. Those investments would be on top of a $226 million pre-tax charge Northrop Grumman incurred in the first […]

Oklo has recently entered into two energy-based agreements that utilize its advanced nuclear Aurora powerhouse, one involves teaming up with an oilfield services company. The Santa Clara, Calif. based advanced nuclear company announced a strategic partnership with Liberty Energy, an oil-based services company headquartered in Denver, Colo., to accelerate integrated power solutions for large, high-demand […]

An electric utility in Japan will resume what it describes as a voluntary on-site survey that could lead to construction of the nation’s first new nuclear power plant since the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident in March 2011. Kansai Electric Power Company announced in a Tuesday July 22 press release it will resume the survey work on […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite projected rising power demand, pro-nuclear White House orders and increased investor interest, many challenges remain for a “nuclear renaissance” to take place in the United States, an expert panel said here Wednesday. The nuclear industry has at best a “mixed” record on cost and schedule performance on nuclear power plants, said […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nuclear projects deadlines set out by President Donald Trump’s administration’s executive actions are aggressive but necessary, a panel of nuclear industry experts and members said Wednesday. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Goff, Department of Defense Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army Jeff Waksman, U.S. Nuclear Industry Council […]

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the agency in charge of managing the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, was one of hundreds of organizations affected by a massive SharePoint hack. While the bug was discovered last week, Microsoft said in a blog post Tuesday that three Chinese actors were exploiting vulnerabilities in […]

The Department of Energy should soon publish its Supplement Analysis and Amended Record of Decision for blending down roughly 2.2 metric tons of highly enriched uranium in order to make about 3.1 metric tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The document should soon be published in the […]

The Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency released its third edition of its Small Modular Reactor Dashboard on Tuesday and its newest edition identified 127 SMR technologies being developed around the globe.  As NEA officials said last week, out of the 127 SMR technologies cited, 74 of them are in active development and are given comprehensive overviews […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Industry members told a subcommittee of the Government Oversight Committee Tuesday that Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standards are slowing down advanced nuclear deployment.  At the same time, a former NRC chairman said stripping NRC of its independence could undermine public confidence in the safety of nuclear power plants. Alex Epstein, president and […]

The staff at the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky has completed an environmental baseline study that could set the stage for transferring 188 acres of land to local authorities for redevelopment. The 169-page study was completed by DOE and forwarded to Kentucky officials and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in late May, the […]

The Savannah River Site in South Carolina hopes to officially open its $66 million, offsite research center next month, following a greenlight this week from the Department of Energy to begin operations. During a bimonthly meeting of the Savannah River Site (SRS) Citizens Advisory Board, Edwin DeShong, field boss for the Office of Environmental Management […]

A trio of experts told a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee Tuesday that expanded debriefings on federal contract awards might reduce the number of bid protests. More detailed debriefings, which explain to bidders the rationale behind contract awards, are being used by the Department of Defense and other agencies might consider them as well,  […]

BWX Technologies, a Lynchburg, Va.-based nuclear company, announced Tuesday that its subsidiary installed and tested a furnace to manufacture TRISO nuclear fuel for advanced reactor technology. TRISO fuel comprises a uranium fuel core surrounded by carbon and silicone layers. The furnace solidifies molds for TRISO particles before the ingredients become an advanced form of fuel […]

A five-acre grass fire broke out near the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. Monday, a local news outlet reported. The lab fire broke out at 1 p.m. Pacific time Monday. It started on Greenville Road near Patterson Pass Road, according to a July 21 article by a local Patch newsletter. […]

The Access Intelligence office in Arlington, Virginia that Exchange Monitor shares with sister publication Defense Daily is closing effective July 31.  The office has not been used much since the pandemic. Reporters and editors largely work remotely anyway and subscribers should not notice any changes.  Going forward, any correspondence normally snail-mailed to Exchange Monitor at […]

RSI EnTech, based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., has acquired Albuquerque-based Sigma Science, another well-known small contractor with the Department of Energy nuclear complex, the companies announced Friday.  RSI EnTech, which is part of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Industrial or AIS, an Alaska Native corporation, did not disclose the value of the transaction in the […]

Iran will meet with China and Russia Tuesday to discuss its nuclear program and potential snapback sanctions, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday in a briefing. The meeting will come ahead of a meeting in Istanbul between Iran and France, Germany and the United Kingdom, or the E3 nations, on Friday. The E3 nations, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold two public meetings on July 31 and Aug. 6 to discuss the potential restart of Crane Clean Energy Center, formerly known as Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, in Middletown, Pa. The July 31 meeting will be held in-person at Capitol Union Building, on the Penn State Harrisburg campus, in […]

Holtec’s Palisades Nuclear Plant is inching closer to potential restart as ​the Nuclear Regulatory Commission intends to approve six licensing actions this week for the Michigan plant.   In a July 17 notification of significant licensing action, NRC staff said it intends to green light key issues for plant restart. By July 24, staff will “issue […]

Jill Hruby, the most recent administrator of the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration, recently joined the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board, the organization announced last week. “I’m honored to join the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board at such a pivotal moment for nuclear affairs worldwide,” Hruby said in the […]