Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The Department of Energy approved the preliminary documented safety analysis for Radiant Nuclear’s Kaleidos demonstration reactor Monday. El Segundo, Calif.-based Radiant becomes the second company to have its safety analysis approved by DOE under its advanced reactor pilot program, with the first being Antares Nuclear. Through the program, DOE has set a goal of at […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted Duke Energy’s early site permit application for the Belews Creek Station near Stokes County, N.C. NRC staff found that the application contains enough information for the agency to formally docket the case and begin its detailed technical reviews, according to its press release. Docketing the application does not mean […]

A new nuclear technology company, Project Omega, said this week it will focus on developing nuclear fuel recycling technology. The Rhode Island-based private company said it will develop and deploy “cutting edge technologies and processes to recycle spent nuclear fuel into long-duration, high-density power sources, and critical materials for the nuclear industry,” according to the […]

The United States and Armenia signed an agreement to collaborate in civil nuclear power Monday. Within the deal, it will allow up to $5 billion in U.S. exports to Armenia and an additional $4 billion in longer-term fuel and maintenance contracts, Vice President J.D. Vance said during the Monday press conference. The agreement is also […]

The Department of Energy has approved the preliminary documented safety analysis for Hawthorne, Calif.-based nuclear company Valar Atomics’s demonstration reactor Thursday. The announcement of the completed safety analysis was made by DOE Idaho Operations Manager Robert Boston in a Friday LinkedIn post. Valar becomes the third demonstration reactor under DOE’s pilot reactor program to get […]

Nuclear energy hit a record high in power generation in 2025 and could play a larger role in the world’s power mix going forward, according to a February International Energy Agency report. In the report “Electricity 2026”, published Feb. 6, nuclear power produced 2,850 terawatt-hours (TWh) globally in 2025, indicating a 1.2% increase from 2024 […]

The Department of Energy has awarded over $19 million to five nuclear companies to research and develop fuel recycling technology for spent nuclear fuel. According to DOE’s Feb. 5 press release, the five selected companies were: Chicago-based Alpha Nur will research and validate a process that recovers highly enriched uranium from used fuel by domestic […]

Earnings fell at Centrus Energy, Bethesda, Md., in the fourth quarter, which the uranium broker attributed to the decreased revenue from its uranium sector. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were $17.8 million, or $0.79 a share, down from $53.7 million, or $3.20 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was […]

The United States should prioritize the permanent disposal of defense high-level radioactive waste over commercial spent nuclear fuel, a group of panelists said during a Thursday webinar. In the Energy Communities Alliance’s (ECA) webinar “Options for High Level Waste and Used Nuclear Fuel”, Matt Bowen, a former Department of Energy official, said that defense high-level […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has established a categorical exclusion from certain National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures for approving and constructing advanced reactors. The exclusion is a “category of actions that the agency has determined, as established in its agency NEPA procedures, normally does not significantly affect the quality of the human environment and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has launched an agency-wide reorganization to streamline decision-making in an effort to create more efficient licensing procedures. NRC said it will reorganize around core business lines of new reactors, operating reactors and nuclear materials and waste, according to the agency’s Wednesday press release.  Within the overhaul, “licensing and inspection functions […]

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) earnings increased in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 which the Knoxville-based federal utility attributed to higher sales thanks largely to weather impacts and growing demand from data processing and related sectors.. Net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 ended Dec. 31 were $266 million, up from $125 million, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Monday an opportunity for the public to request a hearing on a request from an Entergy subsidiary company to renew its early site permit for the Grand Gulf site in Mississippi. System Energy Resources was issued the early site permit in 2007 and it is set to expire on April […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has overhauled and hollowed out much of its nuclear safety regulations, according to a recent National Public Radio report.  According to the Jan. 28 NPR article, over the course of fall and winter, DOE has slashed hundreds of pages of requirements for security at the reactors, loosened protections for groundwater […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) said this week it has recompleted refurbishment of Unit 4 at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario, Canada.  Darlington staff are currently doing final testing in preparation of returning Unit 4 to operation, OPG said Monday. The major refurbishment project that cost $12.8 billion (US$ 9.3 billion) is on track to […]

Deep Isolation launched a multi-year full-scale demonstration program this week for its nuclear waste disposal technology. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Jan. 28 at the Deep Borehole Demonstration, located at the Haliburton Drilling Technology Facility near Cameron, Texas. Deep Isolation said stakeholders across the nuclear industry, Texas state officials and Department of Energy (DOE) representatives […]

NextEra Energy is considering adding up to 6 gigawatts or 6,000 megawatts of new nuclear generation in part to help meet artificial intelligence (AI) data center demands. In a Jan. 27 earnings call, the Juno Beach, Fla.-based energy utility said small modular reactors (SMRs) could be built at its existing nuclear power plants or at […]

The Government of Saskatchewan and Regina, Canada-based utility SaskPower are planning to evaluate large nuclear reactors for potential deployment in the Saskatchewan province. The technology selection process for large nuclear reactors will be in conjunction with SaskPower’s plans to select small modular reactors (SMR) projects, according to its Jan. 28 press release. In October 2025, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) has granted a Texas environmental group’s petition to intervene in the case surrounding Dow and X-Energy’s construction permit application for Seadrift, Texas. The ASLB ruling on the intervention petition, which was issued Jan. 22, found that San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (Waterkeeper) established grounds to […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy this week tapped longtime nuclear complex hand Josh Jarrell to become deputy assistant secretary for nuclear fuel cycle. Separately two industry sources have told Exchange Monitor in the past week that Office of Nuclear Energy executive, Paul Murray, is moving over to DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.  […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit Wednesday there was a “pretty cohesive desire” to finish funding the government, but “whether we get it done by Friday” he was unsure. Friday, Jan. 30 is the final day of funding in the current continuing resolution (CR), which extended fiscal 2025 […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Proposals are being assessed for contractors looking to build and power artificial intelligence (AI) data centers at Savannah River Site, the site’s field manager said in a panel on a snowy first day of Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit. Due to inclement weather, Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Type One Energy submitted a byproduct material license application with the state of Tennessee Thursday in preparation for a commercial fusion project. TVA and Type One Energy additionally worked with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to prepare for the application, according to Type One Energy’s press release. […]

ARLINGTON, VA – To garner support for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers on federal land, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) should “state its value propositions” early on, Senior Director at Microsoft Federal Bryan Lopez said here Wednesday. Lopez told Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit that this goes a long way in helping hyperscalers consider […]

The Department of Energy issued a request for information (RFI) Wednesday seeking states interested in hosting Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses. The proposed campuses must support capabilities of the full nuclear fuel cycle, such as fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and disposal of waste, according to DOE’s press release. The approach could be more […]

The Department of Energy has approved Antares Nuclear’s Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis for its demonstration reactor under DOE’s reactor pilot program. Under the program, DOE has set out a goal of at least three reactors reaching criticality by July 4. Antares, founded in 2023, was one of the 10 companies selected for the program. The […]

Weakening the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) radiation protection standard is not supported by current research and could harm people, especially women and children, a former Department of Energy official wrote in a Jan. 23 article. Former DOE assistant secretary of Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff published an opinion piece in Scientific American cautioning against the idea […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Centrus Energy has signed contracts worth $2.3 billion to provide low-enriched uranium to electric utilities and virtually all of it involves traditional LEU rather than the high-assay-low-enriched uranium (HALEU) Centrus CEO Amir Vexler said here Tuesday. “The existing market is LEU,” Vexler told Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit, “There is no existing […]