Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has released over 700 acres in a land transfer to support economic and energy development.  Oak Ridge said in its Monday press release that this is the office’s largest land transfer to date. The latest transfer includes two parcels from DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation: Self-Sufficiency […]

Amentum and RSI’s joint venture was awarded a contract for U.S. Navy demolition projects construction that could be worth nearly $1 billion. RSI Amentum Environmental Solutions’ demolition services under the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract are expected to address environmental restoration tasks at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, according to Amentum’s Monday press […]

ROCKVILLE, MD – With the influx of nuclear reactor designs coming down the pipe, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is “ready for the moment” to efficiently and safely license, commissioners David Wright and Bradley Crowell said Tuesday morning. The two commissioners spoke in their respective plenaries during the NRC Regulatory Information Conference. Though a lot of […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled a new initiative focused on accelerated development of new advanced nuclear technology. DOE said in its March 5 press release the new initiative, Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, will create a hub to speed up advanced nuclear technology deployment using technical and regulatory frameworks on federal and non-federal lands. […]

ROCKVILLE, MD – Just 11 weeks in, new Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Doug Weaver said Wednesday he is focused on cutting down on the “conservatism” in NRC measures, without compromising safety. Weaver, confirmed as commissioner by the Senate in December 2025, said he wants NRC to become a risk-informed and performance-based regulator. He said his […]

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright called for Indian Point Energy Center, located in Buchanan, N.Y. to be “rebuilt and reopened” to bring down New York’s energy costs.  “New Yorkers are now paying nearly 60 percent more for electricity than the national average, and prices have risen dramatically over the past […]

ROCKVILLE, MD – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is at a crossroads and needs both safety and speed to prepare for incoming nuclear innovation, Commissioner Matthew Marzano said here Wednesday. Marzano opened up the second day of the NRC Regulatory Information Conference. As the recent push for nuclear power seems like an unprecedented moment for the […]

March 11 marked the 15th anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami that caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to melt down.  In the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, Japan temporarily shut down all 54 of its commercial reactors. Since then, several of the reactors have been permanently shut down and are […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 15 – 4 Wednesday morning in favor of the renomination of Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Doug Weaver. Weaver, who was confirmed by the Senate in December, was renominated by President Donald Trump on Jan. 29 to serve a new term that will expire on June 30, 2031. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has created a new Office of Advanced Reactors, as part of its reorganization. The Office of Advanced Reactors will handle licensing and oversight of new and advanced reactors, according to NRC’s Monday press release. The office will be in charge of the accelerated review of advanced reactor applications and deployment […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued the Bill Gates-backed nuclear reactor company TerraPower a construction permit for its Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyo. TerraPower, based in Bellevue, Wash., said in a Wednesday press release that it is the first commercial-scale advanced nuclear power plant to ever receive this permit. This is the first commercial […]

Earnings fell at NuScale Power Corvallis, Ore., in the fourth quarter, which the small modular reactor (SMR) developer attributed to a reduction in revenue recognized from the RoPower technology license agreement made in 2024. Revenue for the fourth quarter ended on Dec. 31 were $31.5 million, down from $37 million in the year-ago quarter. General […]

The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station and nuclear startup company ZettaJoule have signed an agreement to explore constructing a gas research reactor at College Station, Texas. Founded in 2023, ZettaJoule is a small modular reactor developer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company also has offices in Japan. ZettaJoule will construct its research reactor, ZJ0, adjacent […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a new rule that would streamline its Atomic Safety and Licensing Board adjudicatory hearings on most license applications, which include new reactors and license renewals. “This rulemaking would enable the NRC to meet these deadlines for applications even when they are the subject of hearing requests by reforming its […]

The federal government needs to figure out a spent nuclear fuel [SNF] management strategy for new reactors instead of leaving it for future generations to deal with, two authors said in a commentary piece this week. Former Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy official during the Barack Obama administration Matt Bowen and research associate […]

The Department of Energy’s recent solicitation for nuclear lifecycle hubs creates opportunities to better address the back-end of the fuel cycle, several nuclear officials said during a Thursday webinar. The solicitation, published Jan. 28 meant to gauge states’ interest in hosting what DOE calls a “nuclear lifecycle campus” that could include fuel fabrication, uranium enrichment […]

The Donald Trump White House nominated Preston Wells Griffith on Monday to be the United States ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The White House also nominated Griffith to be the U.S. State Department ambassador to the Vienna Office of the United Nations. Griffith served in the first Donald Trump administration, holding several senior […]

The Department of Energy has approved the preliminary safety analysis for Austin, Texas-based Aalo Atomic’s demonstration reactor under DOE’s pilot reactor program. Under the program, DOE wants to have at least three demonstration reactors reach criticality by July 4. With less than 120 days to go, Aalo becomes the fourth company to have its preliminary […]

Earnings rose at AtkinsRéalis Group Montreal, Canada in the fourth quarter, which the company attributed to the sustained demand for its engineering services and nuclear capabilities, according to its Feb. 27 press release. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were (CAN) $95 million (US$69.5 million) or (CAN) $0.57 a share, up from […]

Nano Nuclear signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with EHC Investment Tuesday to explore a joint venture to deploy its KRONOS microreactor in the United Arab Emirates. EHC Investment is a UAE investment holding company based in Abu Dhabi that has been around for over 35 years and has 12 subsidiaries, including EHC Energy.  The […]

Kairos Power and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have entered into a $27 million partnership to focus on accelerating advanced nuclear technology. “DOE’s support has been instrumental in helping Kairos Power accelerate our path to technological maturity,” Ed Blandford, Kairos chief technology officer and co-founder, said in ONRL’s Feb. 19 press […]

Orano USA submitted its environmental report for  Project IKE, a planned uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Monday. “We are pleased to reach this early review stage with the NRC and to submit a detailed and comprehensive Environmental Report addressing the required analyses, including land use, air quality, […]

The Natrium technology of Bellevue, Wash.-based TerraPower has been accepted into the United Kingdom’s Generic Design Assessment process Feb. 19.  The Generic Design Assessment is the process used by U.K. nuclear and environmental regulators to evaluate new nuclear projects. TerraPower announced its intention to enter into the process in April 2025 and submitted the application […]

Earnings rose, though government operations fell, at BWX Technologies (BWXT), Lynchburg, Va., in the fourth quarter, which the company attributed to naval propulsion and commercial nuclear power awards. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were $93 million, or $1.01 a share, up from $71 million, or $0.92 a share, in the year-ago […]

With the White House and Congress increasingly focused on new reactors, progress continues across the country on decommissioning shuttered nuclear power plants.  Here is a look at the status of the current shuttered U.S. commercial reactors. The list does not include reactors operated by the Department of Energy or were authorized by the Atomic Energy […]

Deep Fission signed an agreement with Urenco USA this week to receive low-enriched uranium (LEU) for fuel for its underground small modular reactor (SMR). The Berkeley, Calif.-based SMR developer said the fuel will be used to support its pilot Gravity reactor, under the Department of Energy’s (DOE) pilot reactor program, and initial commercial deployments, according […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, formerly the Loan Programs Office, has awarded a $26.5 billion loan to Southern Company to invest in its energy infrastructure.  Southern Company said in its Wednesday press release that the term is nearly 30 years of loans and will be split among two utility subsidiaries, Georgia […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted Three Mile Island Unit 1’s license amendment requests for its restart, according to a notice this week in the Federal Register. NRC said in its Tuesday press release that Three Mile Island Unit 1’s, now known as Crane Clean Energy Center, restart license amendment requests had sufficient information for […]