Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Doug Weaver was officially sworn in as a Nuclear Regulatory Commission member this week. Weaver, nominated in November by President Donald Trump, was confirmed by the full Senate last week in a 71-to-29 vote. He will now serve the remainder of former commissioner Annie Caputo’s term, set to expire on June 30, 2026. Weaver, a […]

President Donald Trump Thursday signed the $901 billion 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law that would allow nearly $26 billion in funding to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). That is the highest authorization limit yet for the agency in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, and $100 million more than […]

Urenco USA has completed its first production of low enriched uranium plus (LEU-plus) and installed its third cascade of centrifuges for the advanced fuel at its New Mexico uranium enrichment plant, the company said this week.  “In 2025, we have delivered on our plans to launch a new advanced fuels capability and to install new […]

Natura Resources has signed an agreement to collaborate with the Department of Energy under the DOE reactor pilot program, Natura said this week. The goal of the DOE program is to have at least three demonstration reactors reach criticality by July 4, 2026. Natura is one of 10 companies selected for the program. It is […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licenses for all three units at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama.  Browns Ferry’s Unit 1 operating license will now expire in December 2053, June 2054 for Unit 2 and July 2056 for Unit 3.  “The subsequent license renewal at Browns Ferry marks a […]

EnergySolutions and another Utah-based company, Creekstone Energy, have teamed up to explore nuclear power options for data centers, the companies said last week. Creekstone and EnergySolutions said in a Dec. 11 press release they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore advanced nuclear options at the Utah Creekstone Gigasite in Delta, Utah and […]

The license extension request for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant recently received a key approval from a California state agency. On Dec. 11, the California Coastal Commission voted 9-to-3 to allow Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) Diablo Canyon permission to continue running through 2030. Along with the approval, PG&E must take substantial measures mitigating the […]

A recent report by the United Coalition for Advanced Nuclear Power (UCAN Power) says America’s commercial power industry will benefit from the Pentagon’s growing role in nuclear technology. The report drafted in November outlines “34 tangible recommendations” that the Department of Defense (DoD), or as the White House calls it the Department of War (DOW), […]

A coalition of 88 citizen groups critical of nuclear energy are asking a regional authority for the Northwest to reject a plan by EnergySolutions to import up to 1.3 million cubic yards of low-level radioactive waste from Ontario, Canada to the company’s disposal site in Clive, Utah. The groups, including Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has extended the operating licenses by 20-years for three reactors in Illinois. NRC extended Constellation Energy’s Clinton Clean Energy Center’s Unit 1 in Clinton, Ill. and Dresden Clean Energy Center’s Units 2 and 3 near Morris, Ill., according to NRC’s Tuesday press release. Clinton Unit 1’s boiling water reactor license […]

Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced legislation this week to formally establish the Office of Fusion at the Department of Energy. The bill comes a month after DOE released reorganization plans for its agency and included an Office of Fusion. The legislation looks to codify DOE’s plans and “urge DOE to move […]

The Senate has confirmed Douglas Weaver to fill the final vacancy on the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a 71 – 29 vote Wednesday evening. The confirmation vote came after the Senate invoked cloture on Weaver’s nomination in a 69 – 27 vote. Weaver will now serve the remainder of former commissioner Annie Caputo’s term, […]

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) has introduced legislation to expand tax incentives for domestic nuclear energy investment. The bill, Parity for Nuclear Energy Investment Act, was introduced on Dec. 4. It is co-sponsored by Reps. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.).  Like Newhouse, Fleischmann and Tenney have significant nuclear infrastructure in their districts.  The legislation […]

After clearing regulatory review, the BWX Technologies-led Nuclear Laboratories Partners of Canada is taking over as management contractor for Canadian National Laboratories this week. AECL selected the Nuclear Laboratories Partners of Canada to be the preferred bidder in June. Nuclear Laboratories Partners of Canada is composed of BWXT, Amentum and Kinectrics. Battelle Memorial Institute is […]

Deep Fission has selected Great Plains Industrial Park in Parsons, Kan. as the site for its underground pilot reactor. Berkeley, Calif. nuclear reactor technology company Deep Fission held its groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, according to its Dec. 4 press release. The company has one of 11 projects selected under the Department of Energy’s advanced reactor pilot […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee advanced the Nuclear Regulatory Commission nominee, Douglas Weaver, in a 15 – 4 vote at Wednesday’s business meeting. Weaver will now move forward to a full Senate vote on his nomination to be an NRC commissioner. If confirmed, he will serve the remainder of former commissioner Annie Caputo’s […]

The House and Senate’s combined National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of fiscal 2026 will authorize $160 million for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy for funding projects related to energy security. The House Wednesday voted 312 to 112 to pass the $900.6 billion NDAA package. The bill was scheduled to head to the […]

The Department of Energy is issuing $11 million in awards to five companies to develop and license new transportation packages for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). According to a Monday press release, DOE’s $11 million in awards will assist industry-led efforts to design, modify and license transportation through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The five companies […]

The French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority has completed its technical review of a construction license application for Cigéo, the Industrial Centre for Geological Disposal.  French nuclear waste management company Andra said the French nuclear regulator’s opinion on the technical review deemed the application satisfactory, according to the company’s Dec. 4 press release. “The […]

Holtec International has landed a Taiwan Power Co. contract to build indoor dry spent fuel storage facilities at both the Chinshan and Kuosheng plant sites, Holtec said Monday. The work at these four boiling water reactor (BWR) units bring Holtec’s global dry storage client roster to 155 worldwide, according to Holtec’s Monday press release. “This […]

Finland’s nuclear regulator has received its third extension to complete the assessment of Posiva Oy’s operating license application for its spent nuclear fuel deep geological repository, Onkalo. The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority’s May to November oversight report said it expects to submit its opinion on the application by June 2026. The previous due […]

South Carolina’s state-owned utility said this week it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Brookfield Asset Management to do a feasibility study for finishing two incomplete nuclear reactors at the Virgil C. Summer nuclear station. In October, Santee Cooper approved Brookfield’s proposal seeking to complete the two partially built AP1000 reactors at V.C. […]

Julie Kozeracki has been promoted to acting chief investment officer for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, which was previously known as DOE’s Loan Programs Office. The office “can do many amazing things and I’m looking forward to making more progress on my personal favorite: restarting, uprating, and building big nuclear reactors,”  […]

Holtec and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will each receive $400 million from the Department of Energy to support early deployments of advanced light-water small modular reactors (SMRs), DOE said Tuesday. The federal cost-shared funding will help advance early SMR projects in Tennessee and Michigan, DOE said in a press release. The financial support helps […]

Deep Isolation said Wednesday it has completed a three-year-long Department of Energy-funded project that advances the company’s Universal Canister System technology for nuclear waste disposal. Deep Isolation’s Universal Canister System is a triple-purpose canister designed to ensure the safe storage, transport and permanent disposal of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste, according to its press […]

A group that includes Deep Atomic and Parker Tide said this week it has submitted a proposal to the Department of Energy for a fully integrated nuclear-powered artificial intelligence (AI) data center at its Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Deep Atomic, the Austin-Texas-based small modular reactor (SMR) startup, proposes to initially start data center operations using […]

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently launched a pilot school focused on regulating the emerging technology for small modular reactors (SMRs). In a Nov. 28 publication, IAEA said experts from 17 countries came together in Warsaw, Poland for the pilot session hosted by Poland’s National Atomic Energy Agency. During the event, attendees discussed SMR […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy recently published its draft voluntary agreement for its Nuclear Fuel Cycle Defense Production Act Consortium in the Federal Register. The proposed agreement published  Nov. 17 sets out a framework for coordination, strategic planning and collaboration between DOE and nuclear companies. The consortium is meant to help fill […]