Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

KNOXVILLE, TENN – In the fifth week of the government shutdown, Department of Energy subcontractors are struggling to keep afloat, small businesses representatives said at a conference here Wednesday. At the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association’s (ETEBA) annual Business Opportunities and Technical Conference, a panel of executives from DOE subcontractors spoke about how they […]

NextEra Energy has reached a 25-year power-purchase agreement with Google to support restart of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, NextEra said Monday. The 615-megawatt boiling water reactor closed in 2020. Provided the government approvals are secured, NextEra Energy hopes to have it up and running again in the first quarter of […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 13 – 6 Wednesday to favorably report out the nomination of Ho Nieh to become a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Alex Padilla (Calif.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) voted along with all 10 Republicans on the committee for Nieh’s nomination. After […]

KNOXVILLE, TENN. – Several executives with Department of Energy prime contractors said Wednesday morning that workforce gaps will need to be filled if they plan to meet the growing demand for nuclear energy and services. Panelists from across the DOE nuclear complex told attendees at the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association’s (ETEBA) Business Opportunities […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public opinion on the draft environmental impact statement for TRISO-X’s special nuclear material license application for its proposed fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Public comments on the draft environmental review are due by Nov. 17, according to NRC’s Oct. 23 notice published in the Federal Register. TRISO-X, […]

Companies in the United States and Canada said this week they have agreed to a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy in hopes of speeding development of $80 billion worth of Westinghouse Electric reactor technology. The nuclear power construction program was announced by Westinghouse, Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management along with the U.S. government. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed the environmental impact statement for TerraPower”s Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyo., the company said this week.  TerraPower said in its Wednesday press release that it is the first advanced commercial nuclear power plant to achieve this milestone. The company plans to convert an old coal-powered plant in Kemmerer, […]

Nearly 60% of U.S. adults favor building more nuclear power plants, the Pew Research Center found in a recent survey. While nuclear power is more popular among Republicans by 17%, this is the first time Republicans and Democrats both hold a favorable outlook on nuclear power, Pew said in a report released this month.  Pew’s […]

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) introduced a bill Tuesday that pushes for more oversight and public accountability for how nuclear power plants use their decommissioning funds. Lawler’s bill, Reactor Expenditure Accountability and Compliance Transparency (REACT), directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to require nuclear plant licensees to provide more detailed and transparent reporting in their financial assurance […]

Last Energy, in conjunction with Texas A&M University System, announced plans to construct a pilot microreactor at the Texas A&M RELLIS campus in Bryan, Texas. The pilot will feature Last Energy’s PWR-5 reactor, which is a scaled-down version of the company’s commercial pressurized water reactor PWR-20 design that produces 20 megawatts of electricity, according to […]

The current administration needs to put together a national independent waste management organization and invest in new nuclear disposal technology to get national waste management going in the right direction, Rod Baltzer said in a Wednesday webinar. San Diego-based waste management coalition Spent Fuel Solutions held a webinar with Baltzer, who is U.S. Nuclear Industry […]

BWX Technologies has applied for $100 million through Wyoming Energy Authority’s Large Project Energy Matching Funds to support construction of its tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel fabrication facility near Gillette, Wyo. The Wyoming Energy Authority’s Energy Matching Funds committee has recommended sending this proposal to Gov. Mark Gordon (R) for review for the $100 million grant, […]

President Donald Trump’s four Tennessee Valley Authority board of director nominees testified this week before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Nominees Arthur Graham, Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood and Randall Jones, all nominated in July, told the Senate committee that nuclear power, in particular small modular reactors (SMRs), will play a big role […]

One Nuclear Energy has announced to become a public company after entering into a definitive business combination agreement with Hennessey Capital Investment Corp. VII Thursday. The transaction is anticipated to provide up to $210 million in gross proceeds and is expected to close in the first half of next year, according to ONE Nuclear’s press […]

Holtec International said this week that restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Covert, Mich., is “imminent” following delivery of 68 nuclear fuel assemblies. “The fuel was fabricated domestically by a highly respected nuclear fuel manufacturer that has supplied Palisades and others in the nuclear industry for decades,” Holtec said in a Monday news release. […]

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) reintroduced a bill last week that would order the Department of Energy (DOE) to study the viability of domestic nuclear fuel recycling. In the Senate bill, Advancing Research in Nuclear Fuel Recycling Act of 2025, the energy secretary is instructed to analyze the practicality, benefits, costs and […]

Fluor completed the sale of 15 million shares of its Class A common stock of NuScale Power on Oct. 9 which resulted in net proceeds of $605 million. The completed sale of the stock was converted in August and reflects a gain of over 300% since NuScale, the small modular reactor company, went public in […]

The American Nuclear Society (ANS) has written Energy Secretary Chris Wright with recommendations for the Department of Energy to implement in creating a national policy for nuclear waste management. Hash Hashemian, ANS president, and Craig Piercy, ANS executive director and CEO, outlined the spent fuel recommendations in an Oct. 9 letter. “ANS appreciates that your […]

The Department of Energy will consider the potential return to the government when it weighs proposals for developing data centers and power plants around the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, a DOE official said during a virtual meeting Wednesday. DOE will be looking at the “financial capability” of the applicants, Marla Larson-Williams of Oak Ridge […]

The United States nuclear sector’s domestic uranium purchasing was up sharply in 2024, according to a recent annual report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In EIA’s Uranium Marketing Annual Report, released Sept. 30, U.S. owners and operators of commercial nuclear power reactors purchased a total of 55.9 million pounds of U3O8e deliveries from U.S. […]

Several state governors have teamed up on a coordinated approach to speed development of advanced nuclear  projects. Working through the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), 11 states have issued a request for information (RFI) to create a scalable and rapid approach to deploying new nuclear reactors. The deadline for responding to the Advanced […]

Radiant Nuclear plans to build its first portable nuclear generator factory on land near the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, the company announced this week.  The El Segundo, Calif. based microreactor developer company will invest $280 million in its new factory and create 175 new jobs in Roane County, according to Tennessee […]

Amazon and Energy Northwest have named the proposed small modular reactor (SMR) facility in Washington state the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility.  The companies hope to construct the proposed SMR in the next five years and bring the first SMR to the Pacific Northwest, according to Energy Northwest’s Thursday press release. The company also selected AtkinsRéalis […]

Southern California Edison (SCE) focused heavily on transporting demolition waste offsite from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente, Calif., the company said in its recent decommissioning update. In SCE’s second quarter update report, the company said a five-track railyard and a specialized material handling facility were built on-site to help streamline the […]

Sizewell C, a new nuclear power plant in England, has signed multi-year fuel supply contracts with Urenco and Framatome, officials said Sunday. Urenco was awarded a six-year fuel supply contract to provide enriched uranium services for the first six years of the nuclear generation station, according to Sizewell C’s press release. Sizewell C said Urenco’s […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll announced a new nuclear reactor program Tuesday to deploy microreactors in the military. Called the Janus program, Wright and Driscoll announced the effort at the 2025 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference in Washington.  The announcement heavily referred […]

The Department of Energy will utilize public-private partnerships to help fund nuclear fusion while making use of artificial intelligence (AI), Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said at a think tank event this week. DOE has released its Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap, Wright said at a Tuesday event hosted by Special Competitive Studies Project. Under the […]