Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The Donald Trump administration is seeking a more direct role in speeding up new reactor development and, in the process, could curb the authority of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission through executive orders, the New York Times and  NPR reported over the weekend.  Reportedly, there are four draft executive orders under consideration by the White House […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hear testimony Tuesday morning from President Donald Trump’s nominee for deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation for the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. Matthew Napoli, the administration’s nominee to be deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation of the National Nuclear Security Administration, is scheduled to testify […]

Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization has announced a multi-contractor team, including WSP Canada, to design the deep underground spent fuel repository planned for Ontario. In a Monday press release, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) said it has chosen a team of WSP Canada, Peter Kiewit Sons, Hatch Ltd., Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd. […]

AtkinsRéalis Group, Montreal, Canada, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has scheduled its first quarter earnings conference call on Friday starting at 8 a.m. Eastern Time. The earnings conference call will be webcast. Later that day, the company will also hold its annual shareholder meeting. The U.S. branch of AtkinsRéalis Group is a major […]

Ontario Power Generation has awarded Aecon Kiewit Nuclear Partners a construction contract for the Darlington New Nuclear project in Clarington, Ontario. Aecon, a Canadian construction company, announced a press release.May 8 that its partnership with Kiewit Nuclear Canada, was awarded the alliance construction contract. Aecon said its share of the contract is worth $1.3 billion. […]

The U.S. Air Force said on Thursday that the program executive officer for bombers at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center submitted a program deviation report on the B-52 Radar Modernization Program to the service’s acquisition executive on Apr. 11. “The Air Force is assessing the cost and schedule growth on the program and […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: May:  14: Meeting: The Northern New Mexico Site Specific Advisory board holds a virtual meeting starting at 1 p.m. Mountain Time.  14: Meeting: Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory board meets in a hybrid session starting at 6 p.m. E.T. at DOE’s Office […]

The Senate has agreed to a cloture motion that could clear the way for the chamber to vote on President Donald Trump’s nomination of James Danly to be deputy secretary of energy. The Senate in a voice vote on Thursday May 8 agreed to “proceed to executive session’” for  consideration of the Danly nomination, according […]

Elementl Power has signed a strategic agreement with Google on Wednesday to develop three advanced reactors for the technology company. In the agreement, Elementl Power, a nuclear developer based in Washington, D.C, plans to provide at least 600 megawatts for each project, with the option for commercial off-take when completed, as said in the Wednesday […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said despite proposed budget cuts, there should be no slowdown in remediation at Department of Energy nuclear cleanup sites. “Through doing things smarter, there won’t be any slowdown” in nuclear cleanup at Cold War and Manhattan Project sites, Wright told Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) during a Congressional hearing Wednesday. The […]

The Government Accountability Office, in a report sent last month to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, highlighted six areas affecting the mission of DOE and its semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. Nuclear weapons complex areas discussed were: improving contract, project and program management; as well as management of nuclear modernization challenges; addressing strategic human capital; […]

Teresa Robbins, acting head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, said on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the first production unit of the B61-13 gravity bomb is “anticipated” to be complete later this month. In testimony to the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Robbins said the program was “almost a full year ahead of schedule.” […]

The Department of Energy has appointed Alicia Stetin as the new chief of staff for the Office of Environmental Management, an agency representative confirmed this week. The new chief of staff, Stetin, joined Environmental Management (EM) this month, according to her LinkedIn page. The chief of staff position was vacant as recently as a month […]

WASHINGTON – Advanced nuclear reactor development will be driven by private funding with the help of federal money, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said this week.  Wright spoke before the House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee on Wednesday about the Department of Energy’s budget request highlighted in the fiscal year 2026 “skinny” budget. The skinny […]

WASHINGTON – Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), ranking member of the House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee, told Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Wednesday she had not received a “single response” to letters she sent him regarding firings at his agency. Kaptur said she and other lawmakers, over the past five months, on a “bipartisan” and […]

Earnings rose at Amentum, Chantilly, Va., in its second quarter, which the government contractor partly attributed Wednesday to demand for nuclear work and divestiture of a non-core asset.   Net earnings for the second quarter ended March 28 were $4 million, or $0.02 a share, up from a loss of $41 million or $0.46 a share, […]

AtkinsRealis US Nuclear has added three industry veterans —Chris Kirchoff, Thomas Roddey, and Kirk Brower—to its business development management team, the company said recently. Kirchoff has been appointed vice president of business development and chief growth officer for the AtkinsRealis affiliate based in Oak Ridge, Tenn. He has more than 35 years of experience working […]

Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., said reusing the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile siloes for the replacement Sentinel in the future might not be “more efficient” or “cost effective.” Bussiere’s comments came at the April 30 Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center virtual […]

Holtec, Hi Tech Solutions and the state of Utah have recently entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a “nuclear ecosystem” for small reactors in Utah and the broader Mountain West. The initiative includes the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) with domestic manufacturing, operational training and workforce development, as stated in Hi […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site is putting liquid waste operations on hold due to a planned maintenance outage that started April 28. The annual break in operations is expected to last until July and should help increase liquid waste processing at the 310-square-mile site in South Carolina, a Savannah River Site (SRS) spokesperson […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has docketed the Department of Energy’s license amendment application for the Fort St. Vrain independent spent fuel storage installation in Colorado. The NRC published the notice of docketing the amendment  Monday in the Federal Register. In September 2024, the DOE submitted an amendment that would modify particular license conditions and technical […]

Earnings rose at BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., in the first quarter, which the company partly attributed to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s intent to award it a sole source contract for an advanced uranium enrichment project. “We had another quarter of strong commercial backlog growth and see robust opportunities for growth in our government markets, […]

The Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee has deactivated the above-ground floors of a contaminated building at the Y-12 National Security Complex and is filling up the basement at the facility, DOE said last week. The DOE Office of Environmental Management contractor, United Cleanup Oak Ridge, is pouring more […]

The Donald Trump administration’s outline for a $1 trillion defense budget for fiscal 2026 received swift pushback from senior Republicans for the decision to include anticipated reconciliation funds to reach the record topline. While the White House touted an “unprecedented” 13% boost in defense spending, the base defense budget, released on Friday, would remain flat […]

After his recent reelection victory, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said he received a positive phone call from President Donald Trump, according to an Australian publication Monday. “We talked about AUKUS and tariffs and will continue to engage,” Albanese said, adding the two leaders would have a “face-to-face” meetup at “some time in the future.” […]

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) called for more investment in new nuclear power to address the United States and global demand for electricity, in an April 28 opinion piece posted in the Washington Times. “We are at a pivotal moment in energy production that will define our nation and the world for the remainder of […]