Department of Energy

The Department of Energy has approved the preliminary safety analysis for Austin, Texas-based Aalo Atomic’s demonstration reactor under DOE’s pilot reactor program. Under the program, DOE wants to have at least three demonstration reactors reach criticality by July 4. With less than 120 days to go, Aalo becomes the fourth company to have its preliminary […]

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is preparing to start shipping remote-handled transuranic waste, which is more radioactive than the contact-handled variety, to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said in a Feb. 25 news release that Amentum-led cleanup contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition is using a […]

The Department of Energy’s latest cost estimate for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., is $18.5 billion – excluding the cost of building and commissioning the High-Level Waste Facilities. The High-Level Waste Facilities at the mammoth plant, to vitrify tank waste into glass, could run another $14 […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Friday Feb. 27 released the highly anticipated request for proposals (RFP) for management and operations (M&O) of the Savannah River Site. The RFP is for a standalone performance-based contract, according to NNSA’s press release on the RFP. The base contract period would be five years, […]

The Department of Energy’s projected cost for cleaning up the radioactive waste legacy of the Cold War and Manhattan Project continues to mount, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public this week. “As of May 2025, EM [DOE’s Office of Environmental Management] estimated that the remaining cleanup work at all its […]

Reinhard Knerr, a Department of Energy executive who retired in January after more than a quarter-century federal career, is now vice president of technical services at Navarro Research & Engineering. Knerr announced his new position in a post on his LinkedIn page within the past week. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new […]

The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee voted largely along party lines Wednesday morning to advance President Donald Trump’s nominees for under-secretary of energy as well as director of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) . Both Trump nominees Kyle Haustveit for under secretary of energy as well as Steve Pearce for BLM […]

Kansas-based Kiewit Nuclear Solutions has picked Jeff Leita, formerly of Amentum, as vice president of markets and strategy for its Department of Energy management and operations business line, Kiewit said in a news release this week. Leita has much experience across the nuclear, federal and national security sectors, where he has led complex efforts and […]

The landlord contractor for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., has agreed to pay roughly $5 million to settle Justice Department litigation alleging the company “fraudulently overcharged” the Department of Energy for hours not actually worked over many years. Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) must pay the feds roughly $3.45 million — including $1.73 […]

The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee voted largely along party lines Wednesday morning to advance President Donald Trump’s nominees for under-secretary of energy as well as director of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) . Both Trump nominees Kyle Haustveit for under secretary of energy as well as Steve Pearce for BLM […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy said Tuesday it selected 46 domestic nuclear energy-related research projects to share a total of $52.8 million. The Office of Nuclear Energy said in its press release the awards support technology development and early career faculty research activities that contribute to President Donald Trump administration’s nuclear power […]

Reinhard Knerr, a Department of Energy executive who retired in January after more than a quarter-century federal career, is now vice president of technical services at Navarro Research & Engineering. Knerr announced his new position in a post on his LinkedIn page within the past week. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new […]

The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office and its cleanup contractor will update stakeholders on storm water runoff issues Wednesday starting at 2 p.m. Mountain Time. Specifically, DOE and contractor Newport News Nuclear-BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) will discuss the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s storm water individual permit. The permit is issued through […]

The Department of Energy’s projected cost for cleaning up the radioactive waste legacy of the Cold War and Manhattan Project continues to mount, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public this week. “As of May 2025, EM [DOE’s Office of Environmental Management] estimated that the remaining cleanup work at all its […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  March:  04: Hearing: House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony from secretaries from different arms of the military on energy, environment and installations at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on Capitol Hill. 05: Hearing: House Armed Services Committee will hear from Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary […]

Florida International University (FIU) will receive $20 million in financial assistance from the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management to support advanced nuclear cleanup technology, DOE said Friday. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management announced the five-year grant benefitting FIU’s Applied Research Center in a Feb. 27 press release. The five-year deal that starts Sunday […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, formerly the Loan Programs Office, has awarded a $26.5 billion loan to Southern Company to invest in its energy infrastructure.  Southern Company said in its Wednesday press release that the term is nearly 30 years of loans and will be split among two utility subsidiaries, Georgia […]

Orano USA submitted its environmental report for Project IKE, a planned uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Monday. With the environmental report filed, Orano USA, the U.S. subsidiary of France-based Orano, said the complete facility license submission should occur later this year. “We are pleased to reach this […]

The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Advisory Board is being discontinued after 30 years, the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) said Tuesday. Members of the Environmental Management Advisory Board (EMAB) were recently informed that DOE during the second Donald Trump administration has decided “to sunset the board,” ECA said in a member email Tuesday. The EMAB […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office has asked Washington state for a permit change that could enable the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) to process up to 20% more tank waste. The feds said in a Wednesday press release they want to use grout to solidify some of the secondary waste generated at […]

Earnings rose, though government operations fell, at BWX Technologies (BWXT), Lynchburg, Va., in the fourth quarter, which the company attributed to naval propulsion and commercial nuclear power awards. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were $93 million, or $1.01 a share, up from $71 million, or $0.92 a share, in the year-ago […]

A long-running lawsuit brought by an employee over implementation of a federal contractor’s COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has ended just months before a planned jury trial. A Jan. 30 filing with the federal district court in Knoxville, Tenn., indicate plaintiff Jeff Bilyeu and employer UT-Battelle, which runs Oak […]

The Department of Energy is reviewing responses to a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Legacy Cleanup Contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The deadline for responding to the draft RFP was Thursday Feb. 26. The DOE Office of Environmental Management plans to eventually issue a final RFP to continue legacy remediation at […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said this week it is hiring an executive to help industrial redevelopment at DOE nuclear sites. In a Monday post on LinkedIn, Environmental Management head Tim Walsh said the nuclear cleanup office has appointed Jim Kahler, who Walsh described as a “seasoned adviser and strategist.” Kahler will […]

A Department of Energy contractor has demolished a 175-foot-tall K West Reactor exhaust stack at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., DOE said Friday Feb. 20. Last week’s implosion of the exhaust stack marks another big step by Amentum-led contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company towards cocooning the last of nine Hanford reactors being placed into […]

Battelle Energy Alliance, the Department of Energy’s management contractor for Idaho National Laboratory is seeking expressions of interest from vendors capable of raising the fire alarm strobes in Building 1617. The work will help the prime contractor in meeting safety codes and updated height and visibility requirements, according to a Feb. 24 procurement notice online […]

Virginia-based BWX Technologies, (BWXT) said last week it has appointed longtime defense and aerospace executive Dan Jablonsky to its board of directors effective March 2. In a Friday, Feb. 20 press release, BWXT said Jablonsky will  also serve on the board’s audit and finance committee. Jablonsky was most recently the CEO and chair of Ursa […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site has asked the Washington state Department of Ecology for a permit change that could enable the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) to process up to 20 percent more tank waste. The  feds said in a Wednesday press release they have asked to use grout to solidify some of the secondary […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, formerly the Loan Programs Office, has awarded a $26.5 billion loan to Southern Company to invest in its energy infrastructure.  Southern Company said in its Wednesday press release that the term is nearly 30 years of loans and will be split among two utility subsidiaries, Georgia […]

Battelle Energy Alliance, the Department of Energy’s management contractor for Idaho National Laboratory is seeking expressions of interest from vendors capable of raising the fire alarm strobes in Building 1617. The work will help the prime contractor in meeting safety codes and updated height and visibility requirements, according to a Feb. 24 procurement notice online […]