Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

While there is a “remote” chance the full House of Representatives could vote on the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Appropriations bill next week, it is more likely that the measure won’t be taken up until September, a key House Appropriator said Wednesday. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn) who chairs the House Appropriations Energy & Water […]

X-Energy received $11 million from the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Fund Wednesday to support TRISO-X’s, X-Energy’s subsidiary, tri-structural isotropic – or TRISO fuel fabrication facilities in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The $11 million award comes from the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Fund, also referred to as the Nuclear Energy Supply Chain Investment Fund, which is designed to to […]

The procurement process to add at least 1,100 megawatts of new nuclear energy in the state of New Jersey has begun after Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) signed a bill Monday. The bill, Power NJ Act, creates a competitive bid process by state agencies to analyze proposals to ensure ratepayers get the best value, Sherrill said […]

After a year of floating around the idea of going public, Holtec International officially filed its registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to start the process. The Form S-1, which is required by the SEC for domestic companies to submit to offer public offerings, was on July 10, but has not become […]

Curio Energy, and Sargent & Lundy, have partnered up to begin the engineering and facility design process for Curio’s NuCycle nuclear fuel recycling facility. Washington, D.C.-based fuel recycling company Curio said in a Tuesday press release the engineering work done with Sargent and Lundy would create the engineering basis to support its licensing efforts with […]

On the Exchange Monitor homepage is a guest opinion editorial with in-depth analysis on public-private partnership in fusion research. “Guest Column: Former lab execs on fusion’s promise: Leveraging public-private Partnership for 21st century deterrence” by Paul Hommert, former director of Sandia National Laboratories, and Bob Webster, former deputy lab director at Los Alamos National Laboratory, […]

Centrus Energy will join the S&P SmallCap 600 Index before markets open July 14, a move the company said reflects its growing role in rebuilding the U.S. nuclear fuel supply chain and expanding domestic uranium enrichment capacity. “Our invitation into the S&P SmallCap 600 reflects the progress our team has made and the expanding role […]

Multiple environmental groups have publicly denounced the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposal to change radiation protection standards, saying the proposal would loosen protections at the risk of the public.    On July 1, NRC released the proposed new rulemaking that will do away with the “as low as reasonably achievable” – or ALARA radiation protection standard. […]

Austin, Texas-based Aalo Atomics’s test reactor Aalo-X reached zero-power criticality over the weekend, making it the fourth reactor to hit this milestone by the July 4 target deadline. The Department of Energy said in a Monday press release that Aalo’s sodium-cooled reactor achieved criticality on Saturday morning at its Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Aalo previously […]

Numerous changes are coming to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s reactor licensing as the agency proposed an overhaul of regulatory modifications to update decades-old procedures, it said last week. But a nuclear watchdog group countered that the industry-friendly changes are chiefly politically driven,   NRC said in a July 1 press release that the changes will modernize […]

Holtec International has completed major projects at the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan and has transitioned to the remaining routine maintenance and testing readiness work required before restarting operations. According to Holtec’s July 2 press release, major projects completed during this phase include placement of the plant’s turbine generator “on turning gear” and installation […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed a new rulemaking Tuesday that would limit how the agency intends to implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) standards. Under the proposal, the agency is seeking to streamline Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 51 – or 10 CFR Part 51 regulations to “alleviate unnecessary regulatory burden, expand […]

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) extended the deadline for the request for application (RFA) for testing at its National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC) Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) facility to July 17. NRIC’s DOME, which is located at INL, RFA’s original deadline was slated for June 19. This updated deadline is due […]

The United States nearly doubled its uranium production last year from its 2024 total as the country’s renewed interest in nuclear power continues to materialize. In the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Domestic Uranium Production Report, published June 23, the U.S. uranium mines produced 1.38 million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U3O8) in 2025. This was […]

The prototype reactor canister for Deep Fission’s Gravity reactor.arrived at the company’s Parsons, Kan. site on Tuesday, which the company said marks a milestone in its “Proof-of-Concept Well” program and unit’s development  Berkeley, Calif.-based Deep Fission said in a press release the factory-built prototype canister completed fabrication, hydrostatic testing and was delivered to Kansas for […]

The United States signed a memorandum of cooperation with Japan and South Korea to create a framework between the three to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) in other countries. The initial focus on the countries’ three-way cooperation would initially focus on the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Department of State’s Tuesday press release. The agreement […]

Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Standard Nuclear proposed its initial public offering (IPO) Tuesday just weeks after the company filed its IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in mid-June. The advanced nuclear fuel company Standard Nuclear said in a Tuesday press release it is launching its “roadshow” for its proposed IPO of 18.25 million shares […]

Centrus Energy and the Department of Energy have signed the contract for the $900 million DOE award to bolster the domestic uranium enrichment production that was announced in January. American Centrifuge Operating, a Centrus company, was one of the three companies awarded $900 million by DOE, totaling $2.7 billion given out in task orders. Centrus […]

The Department of Energy has approved the documented safety analysis for Oklo’s Groves Isotope test reactor in Lockhart, Texas under its reactor pilot program. This approval under DOE’s authorization for the reactor pilot program puts Oklo’s Groves test reactor into its final pre-startup phase, the operational readiness review, Oklo said in a Wednesday press release. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued proposed rules late last week that would make several changes designed to ease management and disposal of greater-than-class-c (GTCC) radioactive waste.  NRC said in a June 25 press release the proposed rule “would modernize the NRC’s framework for land disposal of low-level radioactive waste by allowing disposal facilities to use […]

Deployable Energy’s Unity project has become the third advanced reactor to reach zero-power criticality by July 4.  Houston, Texas-based Deployable Energy, founded in 2025, achieved this milestone under the DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad Initiative, which is the successor to DOE’s reactor pilot program. The Launch Pad, established in March, is based at the National […]

As of Wednesday afternoon, it appears no date has been set for the full House of Representatives to take up the House Appropriations Committee version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill, which was considered by the House Rules Committee last week. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) who chairs the House Appropriations Energy & […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is seeking public input on what it calls its “preliminary final” 2026 Integrated Resource Plan and its associated environmental impact statement (EIS). TVA’s Integrated Resource Plan is a long-term planning document that analyzes its seven-state region’s growing energy needs over the next 20-plus years. The strategy provides insight on how […]

The North Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill that would regulate data centers, and prohibit Duke Energy from retiring coal- or gas-fired power plants until it obtains a permit to build a nuclear plant. The legislation, Senate Bill 730, now named the Ratepayer Protection Act, was amended and passed in the House in a […]

Urenco USA started operations of its fifth cascade of new uranium enrichment capacity at its National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, N.M., the company said Monday. The fifth cascade officially began to operate on June 22, which was ahead of schedule, Urenco USA said in a Monday press release. The company previously installed new cascades over […]

Arizona Public Service and two other Arizona-based utilities have begun their preliminary siting study to explore opportunities for additional nuclear power in Arizona. The study will use a phased screening methodology to narrow down potential locations in the state to a short list, Arizona Public Service said in a June 24 press release. The siting […]

Many countries are searching to find a suitable deep underground geological repository for high-level radioactive waste in an effort to close the nuclear fuel cycle.  In June, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board held its spring meeting in Arlington, Va. with several international representatives sharing lessons learned in the siting process for a waste repository. […]

In a policy that has already encountered resistance, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is looking to replace the “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA) principle with “clearer, more objective” rules for radiation protection, the agency said Wednesday. ALARA is the principle that everything reasonably possible should be done to lower radiation exposure. This principle is a […]