Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

United Kingdom-based Rolls-Royce SMR has been selected by Swedish nuclear company Videberg Kraft to deploy three small modular reactors (SMRs) on the Värö peninsula on Sweden’s west coast. Videberg Kraft’s project looks to build Sweden’s first nuclear power plant in over 40 years and to add 1,500 megawatts of low-carbon baseload power, according to Rolls-Royce […]

The largest driver to the increase of nuclear reactor construction cost in the United States is mid-construction regulatory change, American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Roger Pielke recently said.  In a Monday analysis report, Pielke said U.S. nuclear construction has essentially flatlined since 2006 and argued that nuclear policy choices have led to the cost increase. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public input on the environmental review of Holtec’s two proposed small modular reactors (SMRs) at Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. Comments on the scope of Holtec’s Palisades SMR project’s environmental impact statement are due by July 15. The agency is looking for public comments to identify possible alternatives, environmental […]

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) expects the full House of Representatives to take up the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development appropriations bill next week. “We will go to the floor next week.” Fleischmann told the annual meeting of the Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The lawmaker, whose district adjoins the Department […]

Centrus Energy and Oklo signed a letter of intent Thursday that would have Centrus supply high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to fuel up to five of Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse reactors. According to Centrus’ press release, the company would provide HALEU from its American Centrifuge Plant in Pike County, Ohio to Oklo’s planned 1,200-megawatt power campus near […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it has renewed the license for the Hatch Nuclear Plant in Baxley, Ga.,in under 12 months.. The Edwin Hatch nuclear plant, owned by Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power, received its second license renewal. According to NRC’s June 12 press release, Hatch Unit 1 is now licensed to run through […]

California-based Oklo and Tennessee-based Standard Nuclear entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Tuesday to explore commercial collaboration on nuclear fuel recycling and advanced fuel manufacturing. The collaboration between the two companies comes as both were selected for advanced negotiations by the Department of Energy under its Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program last month, according to […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said that Holtec International’s Palisades nuclear power plant will play a role in power data centers in Michigan, according to a Monday WKAR article. Wright, along with Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Mich.), discussed energy plans in Michigan amid the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing closing a $1.6 billion […]

Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Greg Jaczko lost in a longshot bid for Congress as a Democratic delegate for Washington, D.C., according to multiple news outlets. At-large D.C. council member Robert White won the Democratic primary for the Congressional seat, garnering 62.9% of the vote, according to the Associated Press as of Thursday morning. Jaczko […]

Navarro Research and Engineering has entered into a strategic partnership with New York-based Quadrant Nuclear Industries to support the growing demands of the advanced nuclear industry, Navarro said this week.  According to Navarro’s press release, through the agreement Quadrant Nuclear plans to combine its experience in advanced nuclear technology development and project execution  Navarro’s expertise […]

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in U.S. District Court has ruled that the Department of Energy must overturn its cancellation of $82.1 millions in clean energy grants that were terminated in several Democratic-leaning states. Exchange Monitor reached out to DOE about whether the government would be appealing the June 11 ruling but has not heard […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy expects another test reactor to reach criticality imminently, DOE Office of Nuclear Energy’s Acting Chief Operating Officer Lauren Joyce said Wednesday. “I anticipate that you will hear very very soon that a second reactor will go critical, so please stay tuned for that,” Joyce told the annual […]

Zeno Power, a Seattle-based maker of nuclear batteries, has selected the Vallecitos Nuclear Center in Sunol, Calif. For a manufacturing facility, the company said Thursday. Additionally, Zeno also partnered with nuclear decommissioning company NorthStar to help restore specialized hot cell infrastructure to produce nuclear batteries purposed for commercial, defense and space uses, according to the […]

The Department of Energy unveiled the final version of its Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap on Tuesday. The Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap serves as a national strategy to place the development and commercialization of fusion energy on a fast track. The newest fusion strategy aligns DOE and private industry to bring together fusion energy, […]

Florida-based nuclear startup AMPERA’s established an Australia-based subsidiary to streamline the use of thorium from Australia to fuel its “factory-built, scalable, supercritical nuclear energy system’, the company said Tuesday. According to AMPERA’s press release, these efforts build off the framework the U.S. government announced with Australia to secure supply for mining and processing critical, rare […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several industry experts sought to lower expectations for nuclear fuel recycling during a Tuesday House hearing, saying backend recycling will not solve the larger domestic nuclear waste challenges. In recent years, lawmakers of both parties have shown renewed interest in nuclear fuel recycling and reprocessing. The practice would take spent nuclear fuel […]

The Department of Energy has approved Oklo Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis for its Aurora powerhouse project at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) under DOE’s reactor pilot program. Oklo broke ground for its Aurora-INL reactor in September 2025. DOE’s goal under the pilot program is to have at least three test advanced reactors reaching criticality by […]

The Department of Energy’s Idaho Cleanup Project recently completed two shipments of gloveboxes from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to disposal facilities. According to North Wind Group’s May 27 press release, crews from the Idaho Environment Coalition, led by Amentum and North Wind Portage, dismantled the gloveboxes. A glovebox is a sealed unit designed to […]

In less than a year, Doug Weaver has been sworn in as a Nuclear Regulatory Commission member twice, this time for a new five-year term. Weaver was confirmed alongside nearly 50 of President Donald Trump’s other nominees in the en bloc package, Senate Resolution 690, spearheaded by the Republicans. The nominees’ confirmation passed by a […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public input on a draft environmental assessment and draft finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for restarting the former Three Mile Island reactor. NRC published a notice in the Federal Register on Monday and requested that comments be submitted by July 8. NRC is evaluating the foreseeable environmental effects […]

Tennessee released  its own regulatory framework for nuclear fusion technologies this week, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) said. According to a June 1 press release, TDEC said that Tennessee will be the first state to move forward with a technology-neutral approach for fusion machines. On Tuesday, the state unveiled the regulatory process […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislation to accelerate licensing for domestic uranium enrichment is critical in building nuclear reactors at scale, panelists told the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy subcommittee Tuesday. During the House subcommittee hearing, the panelists discussed six proposed pieces of nuclear energy-related legislation that subcommittee members said are aimed to further modernize nuclear […]

The Department of Energy is working with the state of Utah on finalizing an agreement to place a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus there, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said during a House hearing Wednesday. Wright provided a brief update on DOE’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, which the agency has been rather tight-lipped on. He was […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a new rulemaking Monday that would move its mandatory hearings in licensing reviews towards the beginning of the process rather than towards the end. According to NRC’s Tuesday press release, the rulemaking, triggered by Executive Order 14300 and the Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act — or the ADVANCE Act […]

Tuesday in Arlington, Va., the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) heard from various nations developing repository sites for spent nuclear fuel. During its spring board meeting, the NWTRB listened to presentations featuring technical lessons gleaned from the siting and development of geologic repositories in other countries. This includes speakers from countries such as […]

Constellation Energy moves one step closer to restarting the former Three Mile Island reactor in Pennsylvania after having a waiver granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this week. Under the waiver request granted on Monday, Constellation will be able to transfer 760 megawatts of capacity interconnection rights from its Eddystone natural-gas power plant […]

The Department of Energy is not yet sharing specifics about the states underserious consideration for its Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus program,  The DOE program seeks federal-state partnerships to increase the nation’s fuel fabrication, uranium enrichment and waste disposal efforts. The program was announced in January, and in April, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said 28 states […]

Torrance, Calif.-based Antares Nuclear reached zero-power criticality at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Thursday, becoming the first reactor company to reach this milestone under the reactor pilot program. Antares’ Mark-0 test reactor reached criticality exactly one month before DOE’s reactor pilot program’s deadline of July 4. The company additionally becomes the 53rd […]