Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Bussiere approves two of three missile wings’ Sentinel silo plans
BARKSDALE AFB, La.— Gen. Thomas Bussiere, head of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) , told Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily he is working on approving three plans to replace Minuteman III silos for the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile. Bussiere, the head of AFGSC since December 2022, discussed the command’s modernization efforts in an […]
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Budget & Policy
Correction:
An article in the June 16 Weapons Complex Morning Briefing [Triso-X targeting December 2027 for startup of Oak Ridge plant] should have said Triso-X is developing a fuel fabrication facility.
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
NRC to review X-Energy’s construction permit application within 18 months
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recently released an 18-month review schedule for X-Energy’s construction permit application for its advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, Texas. The NRC provided estimated dates for the Rockville, Md. based nuclear technology company construction permit application’s safety review and environmental review on June 10. For the safety review milestones, the agency […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
SRS waste contractor completes pipe upgrades during outage
Pipe modifications in a tank farm at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina are winding down and should be complete in July, according to DOE. The utility work at the 310-square-mile site near Aiken, S.C., comes during a planned outage, which began on April 28 and is on track to finish […]
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Budget & Policy
Safety watchdog board needs a quorum: citizen groups
The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA), an umbrella organization of citizen groups active on nuclear weapons, cleanup and energy issues, wants the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board to have a quorum again. In a recent report, the alliance said Congress should protect the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), which is down to two members […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
SASC chair lambasts Trump Navy budget, reliance on reconciliation
The Senate Armed Services chairman last week argued the White House Naval budget request shortchanges regular annual appropriations by wrongly assuming gaps will be filled via reconciliation. “I must say, I am deeply disappointed with the administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Navy,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said in his opening statement during […]
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Contracts & Procurement
BWXT selects new chief nuclear officer
Kevin McCoy has been appointed as BWX Technologies’ newest chief nuclear officer, the Lynchburg, Va.-based nuclear fuel company announced Monday. McCoy, formerly the company’s Government Operations president since 2022, will be responsible for supporting the Department of Defense and Navy in accelerating Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine production. As McCoy steps into his new role, Joseph […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
NRC Commissioner Hanson terminated by President Trump
Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Christopher Hanson was fired late Friday by President Donald Trump, according to Hanson’s Monday LinkedIn post. “Late on Friday, President Trump terminated my position with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission without cause, contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees,” Hanson said. A NRC spokesperson confirmed the […]
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- House appropriators pass $831.5 billion fiscal ‘26 defense bill, crickets from White House
- Triso-X targeting December 2027 for startup of Oak Ridge plant
- USAF explores possible Minuteman III development, operations, sustainment program
- Nano Nuclear appoints Rick Perry to chair its advisory board
- Train shed comes down at DOE Nevada Site
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Cleanup & Remediation
Train shed comes down at DOE Nevada Site
Work crews using heavy equipment have torn down a 1960s era train shed at the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site, DOE announced last week. “We are pleased to get this structure to the ground as part of our long term cleanup mission,” DOE Office of Environmental Management Nevada Program Manager Robert Boehlecke said […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Triso-X targeting December 2027 for startup of Oak Ridge plant
SAVANNAH, GA. — Triso-X is targeting Dec. 6, 2027, for production of its first “pebble” of fabricated nuclear fuel at its facility located on land formerly owned by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, a company executive told a conference here Thursday. The 215,000-square-foot fuel fabrication facility, called TX-1, will employ about […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
USAF explores possible Minuteman III development, operations, sustainment program
The U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center may hold an industry day in late August to gauge industry capacity to support a possible intercontinental ballistic missile Development, Operations, and Sustainment program for the Boeing Minuteman III (MMIII). The industry day would be held at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah. Such a contract would “ensure […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Nano Nuclear appoints Rick Perry to chair its advisory board
Nano Nuclear Energy has recently appointed former Secretary of Energy Rick Perry as its Chairman of its executive advisory board. The startup nuclear company headquartered in New York, N.Y. made the announcement on June 10 in a press release. Nano Nuclear’s executive advisory board is made up of various governmental, military and science experts from […]
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Budget & Policy
House appropriators pass $831.5 billion fiscal ‘26 defense bill, crickets from White House
The House Appropriations Committee voted 36-27 last week to pass its $831.5 billion defense spending bill, as lawmakers reiterated the uncertainty of advancing appropriations legislation without having received full budget details from the Trump administration. According to the bill summary, the bill supports modernization for the nuclear triad, which includes the B-21 Raider, the Columbia-class […]
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- HAC-D advances $831.5 billion defense bill after pressing Hegseth on lack of budget details
- Three new contractor teams coming onboard
- Amazon expands power purchase agreement with Talen Energy
- With nuclear interest surging, public trust key, speakers say
- DOE plans webinar on transportation for spent nuclear fuel project
- Centrus executive to leave on June 29
- Advanced Manufacturing center nearly ready to go, SRS boss says
- Correction
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Data Centers & Energy Demand
Amazon expands power purchase agreement with Talen Energy
Amazon and Talen Energy have entered into a new power purchase agreement to provide 1,920 megawatts of electricity to Amazon from its Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township, Pa. Within the new deal, the Houston, Texas based power producing company will provide electricity to global tech company Amazon’s data center campus and operations that […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
With nuclear interest surging, public trust key, speakers say
SAVANNAH, GA.—With interest in nuclear energy the highest it has been in years, attaining public trust is vital to development of new reactors and waste disposal projects. That was a recurring theme here during Exchange Monitor’s 19th Radwaste Summit. Only a few years ago, state legislatures across the country would propose a handful of nuclear-related […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
DOE plans webinar on transportation for spent nuclear fuel project
The National Transportation Stakeholders Forum will hold a webinar on June 18 to discuss the Department of Energy’s High Burnup Research Cask project. The DOE’s High Burnup Research Cask (HBURC) project centers around a container of spent nuclear fuel that holds high burnup fuel. High burnup fuel comes from nuclear fuel kept in a nuclear […]
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Budget & Policy
Correction
An article in the June 10 Weapons Complex Morning Briefing [Supreme Court decision looms as nuclear sector reviews Trump exec orders] should have reported Erica Bickford is director of the Office of Storage and Transportation within DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy. Marla Morales is director of Collaboration Based Siting at DOE Nuclear Energy.
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus executive to leave on June 29
Centrus Energy executive Shahram Ghasemian will step down from the company later this month, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission Filing. In the June 6 SEC filing, Ghasemian, who is the company’s senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary, has given notice to Centrus that he will resign from his […]
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Budget & Policy
HAC-D advances $831.5 billion defense bill after pressing Hegseth on lack of budget details
House defense appropriators on Tuesday advanced their $831.5 billion fiscal year 2026 spending bill, just hours after pressing senior Pentagon leaders on the lack of details regarding the administration’s budget plans. While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered some insight into a few specific funding plans, he faced bipartisan pushback from the panel over having to […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Three new contractor teams coming onboard
SAVANNAH, GA. –The Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Paducah Project Office will have three new contractor teams by early October, the deputy manager of the field office said here this week. Reinhard Knerr, who is deputy manager of the field office for the DOE Office of Environmental Management, discussed the contractor transition here on the sidelines […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
Advanced Manufacturing center nearly ready to go, SRS boss says
SAVANNAH, GA. — The Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina should receive a certificate of completion for the offsite Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative this summer, Edwin Deshong said Wednesday. During the Radwaste Summit, Deshong gave a brief update on the status of the new research and meeting facility being built a few […]
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- Supreme Court decision looms as nuclear sector reviews Trump exec orders
- EnergySec Wright defends shrinking workforce at DOE, says clarity on reorg in next few weeks
- Bolstered U.S. nuclear industry can create opportunities in global market, panel says
- House defense appropriators unveil flat fiscal ‘26 bill, as Congress still awaits budget request
- Hanford workers install missing link from tanks to WTP
- Great British Energy-Nuclear selects Rolls-Royce SMR for nuclear projects
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International
Bolstered U.S. nuclear industry can create opportunities in global market, panel says
WASHINGTON, D.C – The Donald Trump administration’s nuclear-related executive orders can open up the international nuclear market through a bolstered domestic nuclear supply, a panel said at a summit Tuesday. A panel of executives from BWX Technologies, NuScale Power, Terrestrial Energy, Urenco USA and Westinghouse spoke on the elements for global success in the nuclear […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Supreme Court decision looms as nuclear sector reviews Trump exec orders
SAVANNAH, GA – The Supreme Court will probably rule by July 3 on whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authority to license privately-held interim storage facilities, a leading nuclear industry lawyer said during the 19th Radwaste Summit. That was the assessment offered Tuesday by Michael McBride, a partner with Van Ness Feldman during the opening […]
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Budget & Policy
House defense appropriators unveil flat fiscal ‘26 bill, as Congress still awaits budget request
House defense appropriators Monday released their $831.5 billion fiscal 2026 defense spending bill as the White House has yet to submit a detailed budget request. The bill aligns with the administration’s plan to factor in reconciliation funds to achieve a $1 trillion total topline. The full House Appropriations Committee will consider the legislation this week, […]
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Budget & Policy
EnergySec Wright defends shrinking workforce at DOE, says clarity on reorg in next few weeks
Secretary of energy Chris Wright said in testimony at Congress Tuesday that there should be “clarity” on the reorganization and workforce shrinking at the Department of Energy. “The Department of Energy is filled with a bunch of tremendous, hardworking, committed men and women trying to better the direction for our country,” Wright said at a […]
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International
Great British Energy-Nuclear selects Rolls-Royce SMR for nuclear projects
The Great British Energy – Nuclear, formerly known as Great British Nuclear, has chosen Rolls-Royce SMR as its small modular reactor vendor for its upcoming nuclear projects. GBE-N, a nuclear energy and fuel company owned by the United Kingdom government, has pledged over £2.5 billion ($3.4 billion US$) for a small modular reactor program, according […]












