The Department of Energy expects to hand over control of the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina early next week to Battelle Savannah River Alliance.
The DOE is “working toward” Monday June 21, an agency spokesperson said by email Tuesday. That is when operations of the national laboratory will shift to the Battelle-led group from Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.
After being awarded a potential 10-year, $3.8 billion contract in December, Battelle Savannah River Alliance kicked off a 120-day transition period in mid-February.
The alliance team is headed by Battelle and also includes five universities—Clemson University, Georgia Institute of Technology, South Carolina State University, University of Georgia, and University of South Carolina—along with two small firms, Longenecker & Associates and TechSource.
The national laboratory and its 1,000 employees do research for DOE and other federal agencies and is particularly involved in advancing nuclear-waste-cleanup technology for DOE’s $7-billion-plus Office of Environmental Management.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions remains on as operations and management contractor for the rest of the 310-square mile Savannah River Site along the South Carolina-Georgia border. The team made up of Fluor, Newport News Nuclear and Honeywell has a contract currently valued at $15.8 billion that began in August 2008 and will run through this September, although it could be extended.
In April DOE published a draft request for proposals for a new Savannah River Site operations contract potentially worth $21.5-billion over 10 years. In addition to Fluor, other companies said to be involved with bids include Amentum, Atkins, Bechtel National, BWX Technologies and Jacobs. Bechtel and Fluor are leading teams, according to sources.
