Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hear testimony Tuesday morning from President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. Brandon Williams, the administration’s nominee to be undersecretary of energy for nuclear security, is one of four nominees scheduled to testify during a confirmation hearing Tuesday to start at […]

A three-judge panel for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board denied the requested hearing challenging plans to restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. In a 71-page ruling made on March 31, the NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board stated, “we conclude that Joint Petitioners and Petitioning Organizations have demonstrated standing to […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: 08: Hearing: Senate Armed Services holds a confirmation hearing on National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) nominee Brandon Williams starting at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time..  16: Meeting: The Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association kicks off a two-day meeting on New Mexico Federal […]

The area around the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in western Kentucky was facing a flood warning Sunday evening. The flood warning was in effect until 7 p.m. Central Time, according to the National Weather Service forecast. Some minor flooding was already occurring and moderate flooding was forecast around the Ohio River in Paducah, according […]

The Department of Energy is seeking feedback on how 16 installations, mostly in the weapons complex, stack up as potential spots to develop artificial intelligence data centers. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday April 3 that DOE is issuing a request for information on how the 16 federal properties might work for permitting and construction […]

John (Jay) Mullis, who recently retired as head of the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management office at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, didn’t stay idle long — he announced in a weekend LinkedIn post he has agreed to become chief nuclear officer for United Cleanup Oak Ridge. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting […]

Reston, Va.,-based Leidos has hired Daryle Lademan as its new senior vice president of corporate strategy, the company announced. Lademan, who reports to Chief Growth Officer Jason Albanese, has three decades of experience across the defense and government technology sectors, Leidos said in a March 31 news release.  Lademan joined Leidos in March, according to […]

Ernest Moniz and Joan Rohlfing, chief executive officer and chief operating officer of Nuclear Threat Initiative respectively, are stepping down from their roles in 2025 with no refills in place yet. According to a Wednesday press release by the Washington-based nonproliferation-focused nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), Moniz and Rohlfing messaged the board, staff and partners […]

The CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries recently downplayed how much impact President Donald Trump ’s 25% aluminum and steel tariffs would have on the shipbuilding supply chain.  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) CEO Chris Kastner also said adding Australian suppliers to submarine production under the AUKUS agreement will help bolster a fragile supply chain. He argued […]

Orano USA signed a contract with an unidentified nuclear power plant in a Southern state to transfer and store used nuclear fuel onsite. The contract between Maryland-based Orano USA and the nuclear energy facility was announced on Thursday in a press release. The Orano USA spokesperson said the company was not able to disclose the […]

The Donald Trump administration’s pick to be deputy secretary of energy, told a Senate panel Wednesday that if confirmed his focus would be on easing federal regulatory approval for new infrastructure and electricity projects.   In his prepared testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, James Danly also said keeping the Department of Energy’s […]

While plans for new nuclear units have garnered a lot of interest lately, challenges including workforce, public perception and licensing still dictate when the projects can deploy, according to panelists in an Energy Communities Alliance webinar. The ECA held a webinar “Open for Business – New Nuclear Opportunities” on Wednesday with panelists weighing in on […]

The Department of Energy’s $8-billion Office of Environmental Management last week posted an updated organizational chart that now shows longtime federal supervisor Dae Chung as the acting head of the branch. Chung’s formal title, according to the chart posted March 26, is acting principal deputy assistant secretary. Chung was made the acting chief a few […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said Pantex management and operating contractor PanTeXas Deterrence reported a loss of power in nuclear explosive bays the week of March 7. The Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, is a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) site that services all U.S. nuclear weapons in assembly and disassembly, and also houses […]

Texas-based Fluor has promoted a long-time company manager, Tracey Cook, to become its new chief human resources officer effective April 7. Cook is succeeding Stacy Dillow, who is leaving Fluor to pursue a new opportunity, Fluor said in a Monday press release. Dillow is leaving April 11, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange […]

To build the equivalent of an annual 500% increase in submarine tonnage from 2004 to now, Adm. William Houston said the Navy is trying to leverage new technology like automated robot inspectors and drone-based monitors. “We now have automated robots to do inspections for us in tanks – that goes ahead and takes tank inspections […]

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said Tuesday the U.S. Air Force may be able to re-use some Minuteman III silos to house the future Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel. Cramer, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces panel, also said the Air Force is increasingly discussing possible concurrent upgrades to house Sentinel at the […]

The chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Energy and Water wants to see the Department of Energy’s nuclear-related programs receive as much money as realistically possible during a period of government cutbacks. “I want to see the most robust budgets that we can — understanding that we are in tight fiscal times,” Rep. Chuck […]

Dow and X-energy Reactor Co. have submitted a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a proposed advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, Texas. Long Mott Energy, Dow’s subsidiary, submitted the application on Monday.  Reviewing the application can take up to 30 months, as noted in the Dow and X-Energy press release. If the […]

The Department of Energy has circulated its own Deferred Resignation Plan, akin to the Office of Personnel Management’s earlier “Fork in the Road” initiative, and responses are due Tuesday April 8, according to a Monday memo from Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. The new DOE buyout is spawned by President Donald Trump’s Feb. 11 executive […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the license renewal for Duke Energy’s Oconee Nuclear Station that will extend its operations for up to an additional 20 years. Oconee, located near Seneca, S.C., is Duke Energy’s largest nuclear plant with a generating capacity of 2,554 megawatts. It has three units, Unit 1 commissioned in 1973 and […]

While Wall Street focuses on the S&P 500’s worst quarter in three years due to trade-war threats, the nuclear enterprise could also face market slowdown as uranium stocks fall even further, according to published reports. President Donald Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on energy resources from Canada since early March, and he will give […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said rebooting plutonium pit production is key to bringing nuclear power forward for energy and defense during the Donald Trump administration, according to Fox News Sunday. Plutonium pits, the bowling-ball shaped fissile core placed inside a thermonuclear weapon to trigger its explosion, were produced at the highest rate during the […]

NRG PALLAS, a research institute based in the Netherlands, has partnered with California-based Kairos Power to evaluate the fuel Kairos’plans to use in small modular reactors. NRG PALLAS announced  the agreement in a March 20 news release. In October 2024, Kairos Power reached an agreement with Google that will allow the company to develop small […]

Amid saber rattling between President Donald Trump and Iran, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a Congressional panel recently  Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon. Gabbard’s remarks came while testifying at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing March 25. Gabbard said the U.S. Intelligence Community assesses that “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and […]

The Department of Energy cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory continues to find more old drums of transuranic waste with leaks and corrosion problems at the lab’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, according to a safety board. The issue was cited in a regular report on Idaho National Laboratory (INL) remediation work by the […]

The United States’ increasing energy demand could be met through new reactors depending on factors from costs to public acceptance of nuclear power, based on an ICF International report. The  March 27 report is available on the ICF website. ICF is a consulting and technology company based in Reston, Va. With the growth of data […]