Department of Energy

The Department of Energy Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., has now converted 250,000 gallons of less radioactive tank waste into solid glass form. In September, over 39,000 gallons were vitrified into glass form at the WTP’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Facility, Bechtel National, which built the plant, […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management last month marked the 20th anniversary of final remediation of the Fernald Site, a former uranium processing facility 20 miles outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Over 250 people turned out for a Sept. 19 commemoration of the Cold War nuclear site that operated from 1951 until 1986 when […]

A full week into fiscal 2027, the Department of Energy had still not appointed members for the newly-configured Hanford Advisory Board. A DOE spokesperson said late Thursday Oct. 8 that the new members of the citizen advisory board for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., have yet to be finalized. DOE had previously targeted Oct. […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  OCTOBER: 13: Virtual Forum: ANWA Deterrence Center Forum on “Modernizing the Nation’s Strategic Nuclear Deterrence: The Strategic Role of Golden Dome” at 3-4:30 p.m. Eastern time. 14: Hybrid meeting: The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board meets starting at 6 p.m. Eastern […]

With dignitaries such as U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) on hand, Amentum Thursday formally opened what it calls its Global Nuclear headquarters in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The offices at 151 Lafayette Drive will house more than 150 staff and serve as a hub for Amentum’s international nuclear operations as well as providing the company a […]

The Department of Energy has removed “acting” from the title of Idaho Cleanup Project Manager Nick Balsmeier at the Idaho National Laboratory. “17 years ago today, I started my career at the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) as a United Steelworker (Local 652),” Balsmeier said in an Oct. 5 post on LinkedIn. “Today, I started my […]

Early delivery of equipment for a Savannah River Site (SRS) training facility is helping accelerate preparations for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) plutonium pit production mission, the agency said in a press release. NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Scott Pappano visited SRS in September to review construction of the High-Fidelity Training and Operations Center (HFTOC), […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing issued a conditional loan up to $4.2 billion to provide uprates at several of Vistra Corp’s nuclear power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said this week. The announcement came during Wright’s visit to the Vistra’s Perry Nuclear Plant on Monday afternoon. According […]

(MARVEL) microreactor project progresses towards criticality after recently hitting some milestones, DOE said Tuesday. The MARVEL microreactor project, led by DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), had its final documented safety analysis approved by DOE’s Idaho Operations Office, INL said in its press release. The lab said this approval is a prominent regulatory milestone needed to […]

The Department of Energy and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) Thursday, deepening the interagency effort to apply nuclear technology for space. The MOU, titled “Accelerating American Leadership in Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion,” establishes a framework for work on “space nuclear development, spanning advanced research and fuel […]

Members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation serving the area around the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) have lined up $10 million for upkeep of the haul road leading to the nation’s only disposal site for defense-related transuranic waste. The federal money will help shore up the U.S. 285 Relief Route, a […]

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, a Department of Energy employee at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., was to appear in federal court Thursday in connection with Justice Department allegations that he aided a foreign terror group, according to news first reported in the Tri-City Herald. Ellaboudy is in the Benton County jail after being arrested on […]

If you are in the mood to travel back in time more than a half century and watch government-made black-and-white films designed to make the public feel better about nuclear technology, the Department of Energy can fill that need online. DOE’s Office of Legacy Management recently announced it is offering films from the Atomic Energy […]

The Department of Energy’s final request for proposals (RFP) for operation of the 70,000-square-foot 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., could be out this month, DOE said in a recent procurement update. That projection, shared Sept. 29 on the online procurement site, SAM.gov, is consistent with the timeline posted by the DOE […]

If you are in the mood to travel back in time more than a half century and watch government-made black-and-white films designed to make the public feel better about nuclear technology, the Department of Energy can fill that need online. DOE’s Office of Legacy Management recently announced it is offering films from the Atomic Energy […]

The Department of Energy’s Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) microreactor project progresses towards criticality after recently hitting some milestones, DOE said Tuesday. The MARVEL microreactor project, led by DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), had its final documented safety analysis approved by DOE’s Idaho Operations Office, INL said in its press release. The lab […]

Ashton Ellaboudy, a Department of Energy employee who has worked at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., will appear in federal court Thursday in connection with Justice Department allegations that he aided foreign terrorists, according to an article in the Tri-City Herald. Ellaboudy is in the Benton County jail after being arrested on Thursday Oct. […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing issued a conditional loan up to $4.2 billion to provide uprates at several of Vistra Corp’s nuclear power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Monday. The announcement came during Wright’s visit to the Vistra’s Perry Nuclear Plant on Monday afternoon. According to […]

WASHINGTON – As the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission continues to shape up, Under Secretary of Science Dario Gil said the agency is committed to making sure fusion technology is a “success.” Gil said during POWER Magazine’s Experience POWER Tuesday keynote that DOE has set out a goal, emphasized in its Fusion Roadmap, to have […]

Houston-based startup Deployable Energy was selected by the Department of Energy’s National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) to test its reactor design at the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) testbed. The full-power testing at the DOME testbed, located at DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory, will commence in 2027. The Deployable Energy selection for microreactor testing comes after […]

WASHINGTON – As the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission continues to shape up, Under Secretary of Science Dario Gil said the agency is committed to making sure fusion technology is a “success.” Gil said during POWER Magazine’s Experience POWER Tuesday keynote that DOE has set out a goal, emphasized in its Fusion Roadmap, to have […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  September: 29: Presentation: BWXT International is holding an Investor Day presentation in New York City starting at 8:30 a.m. E.T. The webcast and materials will be available online.  :  29-30: Conference: The Energy Investment Decision Symposium happens at the Idaho National Laboratory. […]

The Savannah River Plutonium Production Facility (SRPPF) in South Carolina will have 305 gloveboxes, the president of the operations contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) told a state nuclear panel Friday. “The main process building will have over 300 — 305,” said Jeff Griffin, president of Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions […]

Two California lawmakers introduced a bill Sept. 24 that, if enacted, would provide $10 billion in funding to the fusion industry to help spur commercialization of the advanced nuclear technology. Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), members of the House Space Science and Technology Committee, based the bipartisan bill, American Leadership in Fusion […]

X-energy’s nuclear fuel subsidiary, TRISO-X, completed the vertical construction of its first fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the company said Sept. 24. With the primary building of the 214,000-square-foot structure up, X-energy said in a press release that its subsidiary is going to move forward with the next stage of work that includes […]

The Department of Energy’s environmental contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has started building its final supersized Saltstone Disposal Unit (SDU) at the nuclear property near Aiken, S.C. Like its half-dozen jumbo-sized SDU predecessors, SDU-12 will be 43 feet high, 375 feet in diameter, and have a total capacity of 34.5 million […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Department of Energy plans to move forward with the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus program, Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) looks for clarity in the state’s role in the initiative. During the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Wednesday hearing, the Utah senator stood firm in believing that the country needs to […]

The Department of Energy is planning to renew another multiple year funding agreement with the Nye County, Nev. Sheriff’s office to help protect the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), located 65 miles outside of Las Vegas. The department will conclude its current two-year agreement with Nye County on Dec. 31. The existing cooperative agreement provides […]

Two Department of Energy contractors, one in in charge of operations and the other responsible for liquid waste and cleanup, touted recent developments at the Savannah River Site Thursday a meeting of the South Carolina Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council (GNAC), A $1.4 billion training facility to support the Savannah River Plutonium Production Facility (SRPPF) is […]

The Department of Energy is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from vendors that could potentially help recover valuable critical materials from nuclear cleanup sites. DOE expects it can reclaim rare earth elements and other materials important to industry from Cold War and Manhattan Project sites overseen by the department’s Office of Environmental Management, according to […]