Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

A company promoting deep borehole technology for nuclear waste has announced plans to work with a company developing plans for underground nuclear reactors, according to a press release.  Deep Isolation has agreed in a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in the management of  spent nuclear fuel from Deep Fission’s advanced underground reactors. A Deep Isolation […]

Duke Energy has filed an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a second license renewal for its Robinson Nuclear Plant in Hartville, S.C., the company said this week.  Robinson Nuclear Plant began operating in 1971 and has one unit, a pressurized-water reactor, that generates 759 megawatts. It is also the first commercial nuclear plant […]

The Department of Energy has conditionally agreed to provide five companies with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for advanced nuclear projects.  The five companies awarded are: Kairos Power based in California; Radiant Industries based in California;  TerraPower based in Washington state; TRISO-X, a Tennessee-based nuclear fuel subsidiary of X-Energy; and, Westinghouse Electric based in Pennsylvania. HALEU […]

With the influx of microreactors applications, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission navigates the possibility of a six-month licensing process for microreactor deployments. Nuclear Energy Institute executive director Marc Nichol discussed the ways the NRC could consider trimming its regulatory processes in an effort to speed up advanced nuclear deployment at the NRC’s Thursday meeting.  With microreactors […]

Orano USA signed a contract with an unidentified nuclear power plant in a Southern state to transfer and store used nuclear fuel onsite. The contract between Maryland-based Orano USA and the nuclear energy facility was announced on Thursday in a press release. The Orano USA spokesperson said the company was not able to disclose the […]

NRG PALLAS, a research institute based in the Netherlands, has partnered with California-based Kairos Power to evaluate the fuel Kairos’plans to use in small modular reactors. NRG PALLAS announced  the agreement in a March 20 news release. In October 2024, Kairos Power reached an agreement with Google that will allow the company to develop small […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the license renewal for Duke Energy’s Oconee Nuclear Station that will extend its operations for up to an additional 20 years. Oconee, located near Seneca, S.C., is Duke Energy’s largest nuclear plant with a generating capacity of 2,554 megawatts. It has three units, Unit 1 commissioned in 1973 and […]

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are appealing a U.S. District judge decision limiting temporary reinstatement of probationary staff at the Department of Energy and many other federal agencies to just states that sued the Donald Trump Administration over mass firings. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of DOE, the Department of […]

While plans for new nuclear units have garnered a lot of interest lately, challenges including workforce and licensing still dictate when the projects can deploy, according to panelists in an Energy Communities Alliance webinar. The ECA held a webinar “Open for Business – New Nuclear Opportunities” on Wednesday with panelists weighing in on the landscape […]

The United States’ increasing energy demand could be met through new reactors depending on factors from costs to public acceptance of nuclear power, based on an ICF International report. The  March 27 report is available on the ICF website. ICF is a consulting and technology company based in Reston, Va. With the growth of data […]

The Donald Trump administration’s pick to be deputy secretary of energy, told a Senate panel Wednesday that if confirmed his focus would be on easing federal regulatory approval for new infrastructure and electricity projects.   In his prepared testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, James Danly also said keeping the Department of Energy’s […]

Secretary of Energy Chis Wright told Fox Business News last week that deleting diversity language from a federal request for proposals, could attract more interest in new small modular reactor technology funds. The Department of Energy last week issued a $900-million solicitation for small modular reactor (SMR) technology. The DOE press release from March 24 […]

Dow and X-energy Reactor Co. have submitted a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a proposed advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, Texas. Long Mott Energy, Dow’s subsidiary, submitted the application on Monday.  Reviewing the application can take up to 30 months, as noted in the Dow and X-Energy press release. If the […]

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is shopping around for industry partners to invest between $5 million and $10 million in an “incubator” for startup businesses aimed at areas such as nuclear energy and cyber security. In exchange for the seed investment, the startups would gain access to Idaho National Laboratory’s “world-class facilities and […]

The Indiana state Senate and House of Representatives have passed Senate Bill 424 on nuclear financing, which now awaits the signature of Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R). The bill would allow public utilities to petition before or during the construction of a small modular reactor to recover pre-construction costs from customers prior to receiving certificates […]

Connecticut has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to become what is known as an agreement state, picking up certain responsibilities for radioactive materials.  An agreement state enters into a deal  with the NRC to assume regulatory authority over particular radioactive materials and do inspections within the respective state borders. The state receives some license fee […]

A Maryland-based federal district judge on Wednesday called for additional legal briefs from the U.S. Department of Justice and 20 state attorneys general challenging mass layoffs of probationary workers  at the Department of Energy and other federal agencies.  U.S. District Judge James Bredar issued a temporary restraining order against the mass layoffs earlier this month. […]

President Donald Trump has nominated a trio of officials to lead key Department of Energy branches serving the weapons complex, although as of mid-week Senate committees had not scheduled confirmation hearings on any of them. All three would report to the already confirmed Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. Exchange Monitor will update the nominees’ progress […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a solicitation that makes $900 million available through federal funds to support the deployment of small modular reactors (SMR). Originally issued in October 2024, the DOE announced the reissue of the solicitation on Monday as the agency works to better align with the Donald Trump administration’s agenda to […]

Oklo, Inc., an advanced nuclear energy company, said this week it plans to have its first commercial Aurora Powerhouse deployed in late 2027 to early 2028. California-based Oklo released its fiscal year 2024 financial results and business update presentation on Monday. Last week the company finalized an agreement with the Department of Energy’s Idaho National […]

Former Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah), the first black Republican Congresswoman, died at age 49 on Sunday following a battle with brain cancer.  Love, who represented the 4th Congressional district of Utah from 2015-2019, passed away on Sunday in Saratoga Springs, Utah, according to her X account where her family announced it.  Love served as a […]

Illinois lawmakers plan to remove the state’s suspension on new nuclear projects in the proposed Senate Bill 1527. The proposed law, introduced by state Sen. Sue Rezin (R), would amend the state’s Public Utilities Act in removing the ban on constructing new nuclear power reactors with a rated capacity of more than 300 megawatts of […]

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, sent letters to directors of Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and Argonne National Laboratories on reports of researchers leveraging supercomputers from the Chinese military. Lee, a proponent for examining vulnerabilities at national labs particularly concerning foreign nationals, published the letters Wednesday on the […]

Texas A&M University professor Satish Bukkapatnam believes nuclear fusion as a reliable energy source is “a decade or more” away from being feasible, according to a press release.  Nuclear fusion is a source of clean energy that involves fusing light nuclei to create energy and helium. This fusion could create massive amounts of energy.  In […]

EnergySolutions appointed Laszlo von Lazar as vice president of operations on Thursday. Lazar has served in previous roles that involved managing operations in the power sector including gas, offshore wind, nuclear and solar. He previously served as president of the Energy and Process Industries and was a member of the board at Black and Veatch.  […]

The Department of Energy is rehiring many probationary employees laid off in recent government downsizing by the Donald Trump administration, sources said this week. DOE did not immediately reply to an email Friday morning seeking confirmation and no hard numbers were available. The workers are being reinstated after a Maryland-based federal judge’s order that grew […]

Perma-Fix Environmental Services suffered a drop in revenue in 2024, the Atlanta-based company reported March 12. In its latest earnings report, Perma-Fix said it was disappointed with its 2024 financial results, but expected better things in 2025. In the news release last week, Perma-Fix CEO Mark Duff said: “While our financial performance in the fourth […]