Department of Energy

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and other Department of Energy branches said last week they have made big strides toward recovering rare plutonium-244 from old Cold War-era material at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. A new radiochemical separation capability successfully recovered valuable isotopes from a Mark-18A target at the Savannah River National […]

As it has for major events in the past, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will make low-altitude helicopter flights over the Las Vegas Strip area leading up to New Year’s Eve celebrations in the desert city. The flights by NNSA’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) Aerial Measuring System aircraft will measure […]

Centrus Energy has started manufacturing centrifuges in Tennessee for the company’s advanced uranium enrichment plant at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio. New enrichment capacity is expected to come online in 2029, according to Centrus’ Dec. 19 press release. The centrifuges are being made at the company’s manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, […]

A Bechtel National company has landed a Department of Defense contract modification worth nearly $928 million for naval nuclear propulsion components, the Pentagon said last week. Bechtel Plant Machinery., Monroeville, Pa., was awarded the modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, according to a Dec. 19 summary of contract news from the Pentagon. About two-thirds […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and other Department of Energy branches said last week they have made big strides toward recovering rare plutonium-244 from old Cold War-era material at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. A new radiochemical separation capability successfully recovered valuable isotopes from a Mark-18A target at the Savannah River National […]

The Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management has agreed to allow Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions to dispose of Class A low-level radioactive waste from Ontario, Canada at the company’s Clive, Utah disposal facility. EnergySolutions got an affirmative vote Friday for its proposal to import the Canadian waste at the Clive facility located in […]

The Department of Energy has revealed its first selections for its Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear’s (GAIN)nuclear energy voucher program. According to DOE GAIN’s Dec. 18 press release, the first round of recipients for fiscal 2026 are: BWX Technologies Advanced Technologies, based in Lynchburg, Va.  NuScale Power, in Corvallis, Ore. Orbia Fluor and Energy […]

New nuclear projects have the potential to provideup to 30% of electricity for developing countries, according to a December report by the Rockefeller Foundation. The report, “The Role of Nuclear Energy in Powering Universal Energy Abundance for Emerging Economies”, said countries with an emerging market and developing economy could use nuclear power to deliver up […]

Natura Resources has signed an agreement to collaborate with the Department of Energy under the DOE reactor pilot program, Natura said this week. The goal of the DOE program is to have at least three demonstration reactors reach criticality by July 4, 2026. Natura is one of 10 companies selected for the program. It is […]

A recent report by the United Coalition for Advanced Nuclear Power (UCAN Power) says America’s commercial power industry will benefit from the Pentagon’s growing role in nuclear technology. The report drafted in November outlines “34 tangible recommendations” that the Department of Defense (DoD), or as the White House calls it the Department of War (DOW), […]

Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced legislation this week to formally establish the Office of Fusion at the Department of Energy. The bill comes a month after DOE released reorganization plans for its agency and included an Office of Fusion. The legislation looks to codify DOE’s plans and “urge DOE to move […]

EnergySolutions and another Utah-based company, Creekstone Energy, have teamed up to explore nuclear power options for data centers, the companies said last week. Creekstone and EnergySolutions said in a Dec. 11 press release they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore advanced nuclear options at the Utah Creekstone Gigasite in Delta, Utah and […]

President Donald Trump Thursday signed the $901 billion 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law that would allow nearly $26 billion in funding to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). That is the highest authorization limit yet for the agency in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, and $100 million more than […]

A coalition of 88 citizen groups critical of nuclear energy are asking a regional authority for the Northwest to reject a plan by EnergySolutions to import up to 1.3 million cubic yards of low-level radioactive waste from Ontario, Canada to the company’s disposal site in Clive, Utah. The groups, including Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah […]

Facilities in Pennsylvania once used to help develop U.S. Navy nuclear propulsion systems will be torn down by the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, DOE announced last week. The Environmental Management office recently issued an Action Memorandum, drafted by RSI, for demolishing old C-Area buildings at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West […]

The BWX Technologies-led joint venture in charge of liquid waste cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state is seeking subcontractors to solidify much of the less-radioactive waste into a concrete-like grout.  In a Dec. 9 solicitation, Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure LLC (H2C) sought proposals for grouting and disposal of […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 25 shipments of transuranic (TRU) waste in November. Through the first 11 months of the calendar year 2025, WIPP has received 408 shipments. That is down from 441 in the same period last year.  The 25 shipments last month is less than […]

A longtime Amentum executive, Jim Blankenhorn has been selected as the new president and chief executive officer of United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), the environmental prime at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. Blankenhorn assumes the top job at UCOR effective April 1, 2026. UCOR said in a Dec. 16 press release […]

Geosyntec, a global environmental engineering and consulting company, said Wednesday morning it has signed a deal to buy Las Vegas-based Department of Energy subcontractor Longenecker & Associates (L&A) for an undisclosed amount. “This strategic acquisition accelerates Geosyntec’s growth in the federal sector, broadens service capabilities, and expands global market access for the combined organizations,” Florida-based […]

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), who used his post on the House Appropriations Committee to push for remediation of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, said Wednesday he will not stand for re-election. Newhouse, who also holds the unofficial status as perhaps one of President Donald Trump’s least favorite House members, made the announcement on his […]

During fiscal 2025, the legacy cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico shipped more than 190 cubic meters of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). That’s according to a quarterly update distributed Wednesday by Brad Smith, president and general manager of Newport News Nuclear-BWXT-Los Alamos […]

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), who used his post on the House Appropriations Committee to push for remediation of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, said Wednesday he will not stand for re-election. Newhouse, who also holds the unofficial status as perhaps one of President Donald Trump’s least favorite House members, made the announcement on his […]

Geosyntec, a global environmental engineering and consulting company, said Wednesday morning it has signed a deal to buy Las Vegas-based Department of Energy subcontractor Longenecker & Associates (L&A) for an undisclosed amount. “This strategic acquisition accelerates Geosyntec’s growth in the federal sector, broadens service capabilities, and expands global market access for the combined organizations,” Florida-based […]

A longtime Amentum executive, Jim Blankenhorn has been selected as the new president and chief executive officer of United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), the environmental prime at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. Blankenhorn assumes the top job at UCOR effective April 1, 2026. UCOR said in a Dec. 16 press release […]

Crews at the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site recently finished drilling two new groundwater monitoring wells and making a third one deeper, DOE’s nuclear cleanup office said Tuesday. Data from the new wells on Pahute Mesa should improve groundwater monitoring at the longtime nuclear testing site, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said in […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 25 shipments of transuranic (TRU) waste in November. Through the first 11 months of the calendar year 2025, WIPP has received 408 shipments. That is down from 441 in the same period last year.  The 25 shipments last month is less than […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy recently published its draft voluntary agreement for its Nuclear Fuel Cycle Defense Production Act Consortium in the Federal Register. The proposed agreement published  Nov. 17 sets out a framework for coordination, strategic planning and collaboration between DOE and nuclear companies. The consortium is meant to help fill […]

A recent report by the United Coalition for Advanced Nuclear Power (UCAN Power) says America’s commercial power industry will benefit from the Pentagon’s growing role in nuclear technology. The report drafted in November outlines “34 tangible recommendations” that the Department of Defense (DoD), or as the White House calls it the Department of War (DOW), […]

EnergySolutions and another Utah-based company, Creekstone Energy, have teamed up to explore nuclear power options for data centers, the companies said last week. Creekstone and EnergySolutions said in a Dec. 11 press release they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore advanced nuclear options at the Utah Creekstone Gigasite in Delta, Utah and […]

The BWX Technologies-led joint venture in charge of liquid waste cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state is seeking subcontractors to solidify much of the less-radioactive waste into a concrete-like grout.  In a Dec. 9 solicitation, Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure LLC (H2C) sought proposals for grouting and disposal of […]