Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Holtec’s amendment to use a custom method to move tilted fuel assembly from the reactor core this week. NRC approved the amendment request on Tuesday, weeks after Holtec submitted the change on Sept. 30.following the tilted fuel rod incident at the plant. Outlined in the company’s Sept. 21 progress report, […]

The Department of Energy said last month it is launching a solicitation for a new management contract for the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The current contract will expire on Sept. 30, 2027, the DOE Office of Science said in a “notice of intent to […]

Urenco USA completed the installation of its sixth new cascade at the National Enrichment Facility in New Mexico, hitting the 75% completion mark in its enrichment expansion plan.  Urenco USA, an affiliate of the European company Urenco, said in a press release the production of the sixth cascade began Oct. 8. The company expects to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received the first part of Blue Energy’s construction permit application to build a BWRX-300 small modular reactor in Texas, NRC said last week. According to NRC’s Oct. 8 Federal Register notice, Blue Energy filed the application on Sept. 15, with a limited work authorization to perform certain early construction work […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on Fermi America’s draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Units 1 – 4 of its Project Matador based in Carson County, Texas. Comments for the draft EIS for the Texas project are due by Nov. 23. According to NRC’s Oct. 9 Federal Register notice, the agency staff […]

Polish company Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) has authorized Westinghouse to start procuring long-lead reactor components for its first AP1000 reactor in Choczewo, Poland. According to Westinghouse’s Oct. 8 press release, this order would cover six of the plant’s reactor components, which include the reactor containment along with its related structural modules. PEJ and Westinghouse expect […]

With the Department of Energy still mulling its contenders for the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus program, Oklahoma officials recently shared more details of its proposal as it pushes to be selected as a host state. According to a September presentation, Oklahoma’s campus would consist of Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouse reactors, an isotope production facility, multiple fuel […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Monday to collaborate on using advanced nuclear technology for maritime purposes.  According to ABS’ press release, the MOU explores technologies ranging from “floating power solutions, nuclear-powered vessels and the development of the ports, shipyards […]

Oklo will continue to pursue its Groves isotope production facility project in Texas under the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative, the company said Tuesday. The Groves isotope production facility, referred to as Groves-2 Forge, will include “capabilities to produce, process and purify critical isotopes”, according to Oklo’s press release. Oklo said it […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission raises concern of a “chilled work environment” at two departments at Holtec’s Palisades Nuclear Plant that needs to be addressed promptly, the agency said Tuesday. According to NRC’s regulations, a chilled work environment refers to a workplace culture where staffers feel suppressed or discouraged to raise nuclear safety or regulatory concerns […]

Westinghouse’s AP100 reactor design certification renewal earned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval and now extends the company’s reactor design through 2066, NRC said Wednesday. NRC said in its press release this approval would give future applicants a standardized AP1000 reactor design that replicates Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Ga. NRC added […]

Seattle-based Avalanche Energy Designs, a fusion energy developer, signed an agreement last week with the Tri-City Development Council to cooperate on building a plant capable of manufacturing fusion power devices in Richland, Wash. Richland is nestled next to the Department of Energy’s sprawling Hanford Site. A big hurdle with fusion is that the power produced […]

WASHINGTON – Representatives across several energy industries consider natural gas the short-term source to power artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear power will become the long-term solution. Industry experts  said both natural gas and nuclear power will be needed to meet the growing energy demand created by AI and data centers, during last week’s  Data Center […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing issued a conditional loan up to $4.2 billion to provide uprates at several of Vistra Corp’s nuclear power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said this week. The announcement came during Wright’s visit to the Vistra’s Perry Nuclear Plant on Monday afternoon. According […]

(MARVEL) microreactor project progresses towards criticality after recently hitting some milestones, DOE said Tuesday. The MARVEL microreactor project, led by DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), had its final documented safety analysis approved by DOE’s Idaho Operations Office, INL said in its press release. The lab said this approval is a prominent regulatory milestone needed to […]

BWX Technologies’ microreactor was selected by Prodigy Clean Energy and two Canadian Indigenous tribes to be the technology for the Transportable Nuclear Power Plant at Belledune in New Brunswick, Canada. The BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor – or BANR – is designed to be a high-temperature gas-cooled transportable microreactor with a generating capacity of 22 megawatts […]

Berkeley, Calif.-based Deep Isolation was issued a drilling permit by a Texas state agency for its full-scale, non-nuclear borehole demonstration project in Cameron, Texas, the company said Oct. 1. The Texas Railroad Commission issued the permit. With this regulatory approval, Deep Isolation said in its press release, the borehole disposal pilot project can move from […]

The United States Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) appointed Michael Janicke to be its executive director effective Monday, the independent federal agency said. Janicke takes over as the official head of the NWTRB almost a year after the former executive director Daniel Ogg retired from the position in December 2025. Neysa Slater-Chandler was the […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy released a $50 million grant opportunity this week to research and develop a reactor cladding material in an effort to improve component quality while lowering costs. The Office of Nuclear Energy said the silicon carbide material is a “promising” fuel cladding material for advanced fuel and is […]

The Department of Energy and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) Thursday, deepening the interagency effort to apply nuclear technology for space. The MOU, titled “Accelerating American Leadership in Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion,” establishes a framework for work on “space nuclear development, spanning advanced research and fuel […]

Constellation Energy continues its pursuit of uprating several of its operating reactors as the company signs its latest power purchase agreement with Google Tuesday. Constellation and Google agreed to a 20-year “clean energy collaboration” to add 890 megawatts of nuclear energy onto the PJM Interconnection grid, according to the press release. The agreement includes investments […]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed two state bills into law on Sept. 30 that focus on exploring the viability of advanced nuclear fission and fusion. The first bill, Assembly Bill 2647, introduced by California Assembly member Lisa Calderon (D), is aimed towards conducting a study on the potential role of advanced reactors in meeting […]

Constellation Energy’s Calvert Cliffs Clean Energy Center in Lusby, Md., will add 190 megawatts to its current capacity under a new power purchase agreement (PPA) with Amazon.  Amazon and Constellation announced this 20-year-long deal on Sept. 30. Constellation said the deal “will enable more than $3 billion in Maryland infrastructure investment, including state-of-the-art improvements across […]

The United States and South Korean governments reached a $120 billion investment agreement on Sept. 30, collaborating on building eight large-scale reactors in the United States. The initiative, named Project Power, involves efforts from both governments, Westinghouse, Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. Under the project’s framework, the two countries will […]

Two California lawmakers introduced a bill Sept. 24 that, if enacted, would provide $10 billion in funding to the fusion industry to help spur commercialization of the advanced nuclear technology. Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), members of the House Space Science and Technology Committee, based the bipartisan bill, American Leadership in Fusion […]

X-energy’s nuclear fuel subsidiary, TRISO-X, completed the vertical construction of its first fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the company said Sept. 24. With the primary building of the 214,000-square-foot structure up, X-energy said in a press release that its subsidiary is going to move forward with the next stage of work that includes […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact late last week for Constellation Energy’s former Three Mile Island Unit 1 proposed restart. This issuance comes after NRC released its draft environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the former Three Mile Island reactor, now referred […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected Oklo’s recent request to reinstate its project to PJM’s interconnection study cycle in a Sept. 24 order. FERC denied Oklo’s complaint, which was filed Aug. 27, because Oklo failed to show that PJM violated any of its procedures when dropping the project from its study cycle. PJM is […]