Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – As the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) undergoes something of an identity shift, it is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) data centers on remediated land at federal nuclear sites. Robert Seifert, DOE’s EM director of infrastructure disposition and regulatory policy, told the audience at the Energy Technology and Environmental Business […]

The Department of Energy approved Radiant Nuclear’s documented safety analysis Thursday, moving it one step closer to reaching criticality at DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the company said. Radiant will now proceed to DOE’s readiness review, the last step prior to starting up nuclear operations. This safety analysis also accounts for the company’s full-power operations […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright visited the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Mich. on Thursday, checking in on the United States’ first restart effort. Wright was joined by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing Director Gregory Beard, Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Department of Agriculture’s Glen Smith and Holtec’s Kris Singh and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has finalized the rule to create a more uniform regulatory pathway for commercializing Department of Energy and Pentagon-approved reactor designs.  Originally proposed in April, the final rule is designed to allow NRC to leverage other agencies’ data and information regarding the reactor designs in its own regulatory review process. The rule […]

Finnish spent fuel management company Posiva Oy was granted an operating license on Oct. 22 for the encapsulation and its final disposal facility, Onkalo, for spent nuclear fuel in Olkiluoto, Finland, the company said. The decision was approved by the government following a favorable safety assessment issued by Finland’s nuclear regulator, the Radiation and Nuclear […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the final environmental impact statement for Global Laser Enrichment’s (GLE) proposed laser enrichment facility located near the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky. According to GLE’s Oct. 23 press release, NRC staff recommended issuing a license to construct and operate the facility. This issuance comes months after NRC published […]

BWX Technologies’ (BWXT) subsidiary, BWXT Advanced Fuels, will supply tri-structural – or TRISO – fuel to Antares Nuclear under a new multi-year agreement, the companies said Tuesday. Under this contract, BWXT will provide an initial supply of one metric ton of uranium of TRISO fuel to Antares. If Antares reactor deployment continues to grow, then […]

Constellation Energy was issued a conditional loan by the Department of Energy of up to $5 billion dollars to increase its operating reactor fleet capacity by 1,100 megawatts. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and DOE’s Energy Dominance Financing Director Gregory Beard made the announcement at Constellation’s Byron Clean Energy Center in Ogle County, Ill. Tuesday […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –  With one year under his belt as Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management (EM), Tim Walsh remains bullish about tapping remediated land at government nuclear installations for redevelopment. Walsh, joined by the principal deputy assistant secretary, or EM-2, Joel Bradburne, kicked off the Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association’s (ETEBA) […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) told federal contractors and industry members here that he still expects the Energy and Water Development bill for fiscal 2027 to pass before Dec. 11. Fleischmann, who wrote the most recent energy and water appropriations bill, doubled down on his predicted passage of the bill Wednesday after he […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – During the upcoming lame duck session, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) hopes to get Congress to legally remove Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the exclusive  domestic repository for high-level waste.  During an industry conference, Fleischmann emphasized the need to update the 1982 version of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which directed the Department […]

Kentucky state’s nuclear energy department issued a request for information (RFI) late last week to gauge interest in its nuclear reactor pilot program. According to the Oct. 16 RFI, the responses to the solicitation are due by Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Responses from utilities, nuclear reactor developers, prospective utility customers and other […]

Arizona State University, Purdue University and the University of Tennessee have banded together to create a consortium focused on filling the pipeline for the advanced nuclear workforce.  The New Nuclear Academic Consortium, announced on Oct. 14, the three public research universities are working on a regional and national effort to build up a new group […]

Centrus Energy acquired one of its manufacturing suppliers, Westernman Holdings, in a transaction for nearly $116 million, Centrus said Monday. The near-$116 million acquisition was made up of a combination of $95 million cash that was on hand and $21 million of equity, Centrus said in its press release. Additionally, Westernman and all its business […]

Rockville, Md.-based X-energy, American Electric Power (AEP) and Amazon have signed a joint agreement to develop a 960-megawatt small modular reactor (SMR) project in Indiana. Using X-energy’s Xe-100 SMR, X-energy and AEP will pursue feasibility studies for the SMR at the former coal site, Breeding Generation Station, in Sullivan County, Ind. The two companies plan […]

In a short turnaround, West Virginia formally removed itself from consideration for the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus program recently. The state was selected to be the sixth state on a shortlist for the program on Sept. 8, but by Sept. 30, West Virginia withdrew itself after saying it would not be able […]

NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy’s merger could be jeopardized as the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s staff urge the commission to reject the proposal as it currently stands. In a Monday 201-page filing, the Virginia State Corporation Commission staff said the proposed merger application fails to prove that the merger would provide adequate service to Virginia […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking responses to gauge the market’s capabilities to help the agency perform its Force-on-Force inspection activities. According to the NRC’s Monday System for Award Management (SAM) notice, NRC invites all parties, including all categories of small businesses, to respond to the Source Sought Synopsis, a federal market survey tool.  NRC […]

Westinghouse plans to put $1 billion into constructing an advanced nuclear fuel factory at its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. Cranberry Township, Penn.-based Westinghouse said Wednesday the proposed fuel factory will produce low enriched uranium plus (LEU+) fuel to support its AP1000 reactor fleet. It hopes to have the new facility up and […]

The Nuclear Company, a startup project developer, is eyeing Lewis County, Ky. as its site for a planned 6,600-megawatt power plant that would use six of Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactors. The Prosperity One Nuclear Campus would have up to six AP1000 reactors, with the initial phase of it beginning with two units, The Nuclear Company said […]

The United States Navy selected El Segundo, Calif.-based Radiant Nuclear’s microreactor technology to power Naval Weapons Station in Crane, Ind., the company said Tuesday. The Navy previously announced in September that Naval Weapons Station in Crane would be the service’s first naval microreactor installation. Radiant will work with the Navy, Army, Defense Innovation Unit, Nuclear […]

After weeks of uncertainty at Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan, Holtec International said this week it has recovered the “tilted” fuel assembly that has delayed resumption of operations at the previously shuttered plant. With the fuel assembly removed, Holtec said its Palisades team will resume fuel loading and other operational readiness activities. Holtec first began […]

AtkinsRéalis Group said late Monday afternoon it is teaming up with the state of Indiana and Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative to explore a potential 6,000-megawatt nuclear power project that would use Canadian reactor technology. The parties announced in a press release they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore developing a complex […]

AIKEN, S.C. – The Department of Energy wants to see eight large-scale nuclear reactors operating in South Carolina by 2036, and an advanced small modular reactor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in the foreseeable future, Tim Walsh, DOE’s Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management, said here Thursday.  Nationwide, Walsh wants to see 10 big new […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission anticipates several applications from plant operators to uprate reactor units over the next couple of years, NRC staff said Thursday. Energy demand is growing due to factors such as artificial intelligence, data centers and manufacturing. As a result, NRC staff said during an Oct. 22 joint meeting it is making efforts […]

Exchange Monitor is modernizing its web footprint and rebranding some newsletters to better reflect the markets we serve and the beats we cover. ExchangeMonitor.com is still the online home for the news and analysis you have come to rely upon over the years. Only now it has a dramatically better search ability and functionality. Exchange […]

Deployable Energy this week selected Sargent and Lundy as its contractor to provide engineering and licensing services for a planned microreactor. According to Deployable Energy’s Wednesday press release, Sargent and Lundy’s selection will help facilitate Deployable Energy’s efforts to submit a construction permit application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its microreactor named Unity. The […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Army’s Janus nuclear power program could support the military’s broader energy resilience goals under the Donald Trump administration’s “Fortress America” initiative, though officials said the effort will encompass multiple energy technologies. “Fortress America” – which stands for Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply and Survivability – is a national […]