Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Oklo’s Groves isotope test reactor achieved zero-powered criticality late Wednesday, making it the fifth reactor under a Department of Energy reactor initiative to reach that milestone.  The completed criticality test comes after DOE approved Oklo’s nuclear startup authorization last month. Oklo said in a Thursday press release that the Groves isotope test reactor achieved criticality […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is hosting a webinar Aug. 10 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss a recent rulemaking that touches on changes to its radiation protection standards. The webinar will be held via Microsoft Teams and will have a question and answer session within it, according to NRC’s July 28 […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Monday issued a draft environmental assessment (EA) finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for NextEra Energy’s Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa. With the issuance of the draft environmental documents, NRC is also seeking public input, according to the Federal Register notice. The comment period closes on Sept. 2. According to […]

Devens, Mass.-based fusion company Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) raised $1 billion in additional equity funding, the company said July 30. CFS said in a press release the $1 billion financing round is the largest a fusion company has had since 2021 when CFS had a $1.8 billion Series B round then. This recent funding builds […]

While the combination is drawing some resistance, NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy are projecting that their proposed $67 billion merger, announced in May, will be final by fall 2027. The merger effort took a new twist Thursday when Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) used  an opinion piece in the Washington Post to announce she will […]

Earnings rose at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Knoxville, Tenn., in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 which the federal utility attributed to “higher fuel cost recovery rates and higher sales volume,” according to a Tuesday press release. The net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 ended June 30 was $307 million, up from […]

Holtec International, Hyundai Engineering & Construction (HDEC) and Entergy have agreed to jointly  explore building Holtec’s SMR-300 small modular reactors along the Gulf Coast of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The three companies look to establish a framework to analyze customer demand and potential sites for the SMR-300 reactor, according to Holtec’s Tuesday press […]

Westinghouse and Amentum signed a series of agreements aimed at advancing fleet-scale deployment of Westinghouse’s reactor technologies, the companies said Tuesday. According to Westinghouse’s press release, the agreements enable the two companies to work together to develop Westinghouse’s large-scale reactor, AP1000, and small modular reactor (SMR), AP300. Westinghouse’s APX strategy will focus on near-term global […]

The Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition (NWSC) commended the Department of Energy’s initial selections for its Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus initiative, but still wants the agency to do more to ensure that a permanent repository can be secured.  On July 28, DOE announced that Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah were on a shortlist of states […]

California-based microreactor developer Valar Atomics raised $1 billion in a Series B financing round led by Sequoia Capital, the company said Tuesday. Additionally, the nuclear startup secured a $200 million credit facility and added Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire to its board of directors, according to Valar’s press release. Valar is developing the Ward 250, a […]

While scant on details, Westinghouse Electric said Friday it has “confidentially” filed a draft registration statement on Form S-1with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), beginning its process to become a public entity. According to Westinghouse’s press release, the number of shares and price range for its public offering have not been determined at this […]

NextEra has acquired the remaining 30% minority stake in its Duane Arnold Energy Center as the sole Iowa nuclear power plant prepares to come back online by 2029, the utility said July 24. According to NextEra’s second quarter 2026 financial results press release, the utility bought the remaining minority stake from two companies, Central Iowa […]

The Department of Energy formally selected Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah as potential host states for its Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus initiative. Last week, Exchange Monitor reported that Utah, Oklahoma and Tennessee were among the top of the list of potential states to be selected for the program. According to DOE’s Tuesday press release, […]

A week after becoming a public company, Standard Nuclear said July 22 that construction is nearly finished on two of its new nuclear fuel facilities in Idaho and Tennessee. SN-TN in Tennessee and SN-ID in Idaho are two identical fuel facilities, which once operational, should produce up to one metric ton of uranium of tri-structural […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Isotope Research and Development and Production (IRP) needs to implement better practices for managing critical isotopes in the U.S. market, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said last week. In a July 23 report, GAO said IRP, a subagency in DOE’s Office of Science, which is the sole domestic supplier […]

Despite the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses role in waste disposal, the Department of Energy will still likely need one to two deep geological repositories for spent nuclear fuel, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) said recently.  The NWTRB, in a July 24 letter to Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy Ted Garrish, discussed the nation’s […]

Rian Bahran, the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy deputy assistant secretary for nuclear reactors, left DOE last week and joined microreactor developer Antares Nuclear. Bahran, with DOE since January 2025, is starting a new job as the chief nuclear officer at Antares. In his new role, he will lead the company’s “nuclear operations, […]

The Donald Trump White House has drafted a memo to Congress, pushing for legislation to remove Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the sole site for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The 1987 amendments of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act established Yucca Mountain as the sole repository for high-level waste. However, plans for Yucca were […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed changes to its transportation regulations in preparation for the development of microreactor technologies. The proposed rulemaking, announced on July 22, would modify Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 71 – or 10 CFR Part 71 – and update package approval requirements suitable for microreactors and new fuel types. “America’s […]

Constellation Energy, Blue Energy and NANO Nuclear have formally expressed interest in building new nuclear energy in Illinois. The three nuclear entities responded to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s (D) notice of inquiry that was conducted by the Illinois Commerce Commission through a February executive order. That gubernatorial action set out a goal of adding at […]

ARC Clean Technology and Battelle Energy Alliance have entered into a partnership that is aimed to deploy ARC’s ARC-100 small modular reactor at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. Battelle Energy Alliance is DOE’s management contractor for INL. According to ARC’s Tuesday press release, the agreement will create a multi-year framework to support the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Holtec International’s license termination plan for the decommissioning of Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey, the company said Thursday. Holtec said in a press release this regulatory approval opens the door for it to move forward with plans to build four small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Oyster Creek […]

South Carolina would consider deep borehole disposal of radioactive spent nuclear fuel as part of a federal nuclear lifecycle hub program, the state Department of Commerce told the Department of Energy earlier this year. That is according to a news release last week from the Savannah River Site Watch nuclear watchdog group, following a response […]

After two days of debate, the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House floor mainly on party lines at 216-212. The defense policy bill, which also sets spending caps for certain defense-related appropriations, would authorize $32.76 billion in funding for the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Marine Minerals Administration have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Wednesday to create a framework for potential nuclear reactors to be built on the ocean.  The possible reactors would be particularly deployed on the Outer Continental Shelf, which the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) defines as “all submerged lands […]

John Kirkpatrick, Urenco USA’s managing director, is stepping down from his position in the fall, Urenco USA said Thursday in announcing several management changes. Kirkpatrick has been with Urenco USA since 2024. According to the company’s press release,  With his departure, the company has appointed Jody Blackshear, its current enrichment director at Urenco’s uranium enrichment […]

A new opinion article published Tuesday on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website argued that concerns over plutonium contained in spent fuel from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant remain unresolved after attacks on the plant.  A Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists commentary discussed how to manage plutonium produced at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, […]

Blue Energy, a developer of what it calls “prefabricated” nuclear power plants, received a strategic equity investment from Constellation Energy’s venture arm Constellation Technology Ventures, the company said July 16. Blue Energy, founded in 2023, said in a press release that the investment from Constellation shows growing confidence in the company’s strategy to use shipyard […]