Department of Energy

The House passed its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 231-to-196 Wednesday, after two days of debating around 300 amendments. Four Republicans voted against the bill, while one did not vote. Meanwhile, 17 Democrats voted for the bill, while four did not vote. The House version would authorize $7 billion for Defense […]

The Senate Thursday, after a couple tries and failed attempts, finally voted 53-43 to invoke cloture on restoring en bloc consideration of President Donald Trump’s nominations. The move has implications for the president’s nominees to head nuclear-related offices within the Department of Energy, all of whom have cleared committee but await floor votes. Brandon Williams […]

An amendment to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act by an Arizona Republican would require a study into the idea of siting small modular reactors (SMRs) at defense installations. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) has proposed an amendment, adopted by voice vote on the House floor, directing the secretary of defense to do […]

Veteran nuclear cleanup executive Reinhard Knerr is now acting manager of the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Paducah Project Office (PPPO) in Lexington, Ky. PPPO manager Joel Bradburne has moved up to acting head of its Office of Environmental Management (EM) as of Wednesday following the departure of Roger Jarrell. With Bradburne’s new posting, the Portsmouth […]

For the next two weeks the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory will depressurize four Flanged Tritium Waste Containers, the lab announced. The work, which has angered tribal groups and the state of New Mexico, will start this Saturday Sept. 13, laboratory officials said in a press […]

The Department of Energy has published a request for application seeking deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and power generation projects at its Idaho National Laboratory site. Applicants will be responsible for constructing, operating and decommissioning each infrastructure project and must secure utility interconnection agreements for new electricity generation and storage systems, according to […]

The U.S. Department of Justice, representing the Department of Energy, this week urged a federal magistrate in Oregon to throw out a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by Columbia Riverkeeper. Columbia Riverkeeper sued DOE in mid-June in the U.S. District Court of Oregon alleging FOIA violations over the Joe Biden administration’s Cleanup to […]

After an eventful couple of days, the Department of Energy turned to a longtime nuclear cleanup boss to serve as acting head of its Office of Environmental Management (EM) following the departure of Roger Jarrell. At the same time, the senior Democrat on the Senate Appropriations, Patty Murray of Washington, said she has placed a […]

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) will hold a fall meeting on Nov. 13 in Arlington, Va. The hybrid meeting will take place from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time at the Westin Crystal City Reagan National Airport Hotel at 1800 Richmond Highway in Arlington, Va. The fall meeting will be replacing the summer […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office and its legacy cleanup contractor will hold a public meeting starting at 5 p.m. Mountain Time Wednesday. Speakers from DOE and environmental prime Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos, LLC (N3B) will discuss remediation at the Los Alamos National Laboratory site in New Mexico. […]

The U.S. Department of Justice, representing the Department of Energy this week urged a federal magistrate in Oregon to throw out a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by Columbia Riverkeeper. Columbia Riverkeeper sued DOE in mid-June in the U.S. District Court of Oregon alleging FOIA violations over the Joe Biden administration’s Cleanup to […]

Curio recently announced the completion of a laboratory-scale demonstration for its nuclear fuel recycling technology, NuCycle, in collaboration with four Department of Energy National Laboratories. DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Washington state, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico contributed to the […]

The Department of Energy announced recently it will provide over $35 million toward 42 projects with aims to advance emerging energy technologies at DOE national laboratories related to nuclear energy and artificial intelligence. The awards were made through DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund, which has a program in fiscal 2025 called the Core Laboratory Infrastructure for […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued a statement Tuesday seeking to knock down speculation DOE might cancel the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) weeks before it is scheduled to start converting some radioactive waste into glass at the Hanford Site. “Contrary to news reports, the Department of Energy has made no changes to its […]

The Department of Energy has published a request for application seeking deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and power generation projects at its Idaho National Laboratory site. Applicants will be responsible for constructing, operating and decommissioning each infrastructure project and must secure utility interconnection agreements for new electricity generation and storage systems, according to […]

Roger Jarrell has left the Department of Energy and as a result is no longer the top federal supervisor at the Office of Environmental Management, DOE confirmed Monday afternoon. Jarrell, the principal deputy assistant secretary for Environmental Management, or EM2, “is no longer with the department,” a spokesperson for DOE headquarters said in an email […]

The Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Paducah Project Office and a contractor are installing a new system meant to cut downtime at depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) plants The current DUF6 conversion process makes use of small vacuum pumps to take out residual uranium hexafluoride (UF6) from heated cylinders, DOE said in a Sept. 2 press release. […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: September 10: Hybrid meeting: The DOE Site-Specific Advisory Board for the Nevada National Security Site meets starting at 4 p.m. Pacific Time at Molasky Corporate Center, 15th Floor Conference Room, 100 North City Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89106. 16: Meeting: The Portsmouth […]

Oklo announced Thursday it will build and operate a $1.68 billion nuclear fuel recycling facility that could employ 800 people at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee.  The fuel facility is the first phase of an advanced fuel center supporting recycling and fuel fabrication, according to Oklo’s Thursday press release. The facility […]

The new William Wilcox Jr. K-25 Interpretive Center has been dedicated at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, the department announced this week.  Visitors to the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant can view the entire footprint of what was once the world’s largest building, K-25. The 1940’s-era uranium enrichment facility helped […]

Aalo Atomics announced it has broken ground for its experimental reactor in Idaho near the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The Austin, Texas-based startup nuclear company was selected as one of the 11 projects under DOE’s reactor pilot program and plans to reach by July 4, 2026, according to Aalo’s Aug. 28 press release. […]

In a nail-biting finish, the House passed its version of the fiscal 2026 Energy and Water Appropriations bill on the floor Thursday 214-213 after two days of debate and amendments. The four Republicans that voted against the bill were Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Penn.), Tom McClintock (Calif.) and Scott Perry (Penn.). Not a […]

A team of researchers at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has begun to investigate the possibility of using fission reactor waste as fusion reactor fuel. If nuclear fusion energy were to become available as a commercial energy source, then tritium, which can be found in nuclear waste, would be […]

In a nail-biting finish, the House passed its version of the fiscal 2026 Energy and Water Appropriations bill on the floor Thursday 214-213 after two days of debate and amendments. The House bill would curb Department of Energy nuclear remediation funding by about three-quarters of a billion dollars.  The four Republicans that voted against the […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has tackled all but a few third-party recommendations to improve its culture over the past decade but suffers from a depleted board, according to a new report.  Progress is tough with the five-person board probably slipping to one member, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its report […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) officially said alternatives to construction of a new 14-mile powerline would not be a “reliable or redundant” electrical upgrade for Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, according to its floodplain statement of findings. The document outlined alternatives, including using wind, solar, a gas turbine, and even a small […]

The Department of Energy’s current orders for national low-level and mixed low-level commercial waste treatment are scheduled to expire Dec. 3, according to a DOE Office of Environmental Management website. The nuclear cleanup office announced last week it has awarded five-year basic ordering agreements for five companies: EnergySolutions; Perma-Fix Environmental Services; Veolia Nuclear Solutions Federal […]

The Department of Energy said last week it will shop around for qualified small businesses capable of doing general support service work at the Hanford Site at Richland, Wash. The DOE Office of Environmental Management published a sources sought notice Aug. 26 on Sam.gov and on the Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center website. The DOE […]

The Department of Energy’s cleanup field office at the Oak Ridge Site intends to modify its current deal with United Cleanup of Oak Ridge (UCOR) for more transuranic waste processing and treatment at the Tennessee complex. “The services include the safe, compliant, and cost-effective operations and maintenance of the Melton Valley Solid Waste Storage Facilities […]

The Department of Energy’s cleanup field office at the Oak Ridge Site intends to modify its current deal with United Cleanup of Oak Ridge (UCOR) for more transuranic waste processing and treatment at the Tennessee complex. “The services include the safe, compliant, and cost-effective operations and maintenance of the Melton Valley Solid Waste Storage Facilities […]