Archive

Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons complex, environmental cleanup program, and national laboratory system. Coverage here tracks DOE budget requests, contract awards, policy decisions, regulatory action, and leadership changes across the agency’s defense and civilian nuclear missions.

  • Better debriefings could demystify bid protests, panel told

    A trio of experts told a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee Tuesday that expanded debriefings on federal contract awards might reduce the number of bid protests. More detailed debriefings, which explain to bidders the rationale behind contract awards, are being used by the Department of Defense and other agencies might consider them as well,  […]

  • Nuclear deployment deadlines are aggressive but needed, panel says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nuclear projects deadlines set out by President Donald Trump’s administration’s executive actions are aggressive but necessary, a panel of nuclear industry experts and members said Wednesday. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Goff, Department of Defense Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army Jeff Waksman, U.S. Nuclear Industry Council […]

  • Wrap Up: EM not hit by Chinese hack; Portsmouth gets more landfill cells; BWXT working on Pele and TRISO; Vote looms on Wright; Hruby joins Bulletin; Newhouse gets threats; more

    While the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA),  was one of hundreds of organizations affected by a massive SharePoint hack, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) was not.  “It was not,” a DOE headquarters spokesperson said Thursday in response to an Exchange Monitor question While the bug was discovered last week, Microsoft […]

  • Deep Isolation takes first steps towards going public

    Deep Isolation announced Thursday it is moving to become a public company and merge with Aspen-1 Acquisition. The Berkeley, Calif. based nuclear disposal technology company has closed a reverse merger transaction with the U.S.-based blank check company Aspen-1 Acquisition, according to Deep Isolation’s Thursday press release. A reverse merger is a transaction where a private […]

  • Two nuclear vendors combine as RSI buys Sigma Science

    RSI EnTech, based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., has acquired Albuquerque-based Sigma Science, another well-known small contractor with the Department of Energy nuclear complex, the companies announced recently.  RSI EnTech, which is part of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Industrial or AIS, an Alaska Native corporation, did not disclose the value of the transaction in the […]

  • DOE rolling out document on HALEU preparation at SRS

    The Department of Energy is publishing its Supplement Analysis and Amended Record of Decision for blending down roughly 2.2 metric tons of highly enriched uranium in order to make about 3.1 metric tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The document should soon be published in the Federal […]

  • DOE selects four complex sites for AI data center deployment

    The Department of Energy has picked four nuclear complex sites to be used for deployment of new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. DOE announced the Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Kentucky and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will host the AI data centers, according […]

  • Baseline study completed for potential Paducah land transfer

    The staff at the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky has completed an environmental baseline study that could set the stage for transferring 188 acres of land to local authorities for redevelopment. The 169-page study was completed by DOE contractor Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership and forwarded to Kentucky officials and the Environmental Protection Agency […]

  • DOE selects four nuclear complex sites for AI data center deployment

    The Department of Energy has picked four nuclear complex sites to be used for deployment of new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. DOE announced the Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Kentucky and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will host the AI data centers, according […]

  • Better debriefings could demystify bid protests, panel told

    A trio of experts told a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee Tuesday that expanded debriefings on federal contract awards might reduce the number of bid protests. More detailed debriefings, which explain to bidders the rationale behind contract awards, are being used by the Department of Defense and other agencies might consider them as well,  […]

  • SRS targets August ribbon-cutting for Advanced Manufacturing center

    The Savannah River Site in South Carolina hopes to officially open its $66 million, offsite research center next month, following a greenlight this week from the Department of Energy to begin operations. During a bimonthly meeting of the Savannah River Site (SRS) Citizens Advisory Board, Edwin DeShong, field boss for the Office of Environmental Management […]

  • Nuclear disposal company backs NIC plan

    California-based Deep Isolation has praised the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council for its plan to address nuclear waste disposal policy in the United States, including establishment of an independent body outside the Department of Energy.  The NIC’s action plan, Action Plan for Transforming the Back End of the U.S. Nuclear Fuel Cycle, provides an outline for […]

  • Nuclear energy-related groups urge Energysec Wright to address spent fuel

    Several nuclear and energy groups urged Secretary of Energy Chris Wright this week to take action to address the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle in the United States. The Nuclear Energy Institute, Energy Communities Alliance (ECA), Nuclear Industry Council, American Nuclear Society, Decommissioning Plant Coalition, Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition (NWSC), National Association of […]

  • GLE files NRC application for Paducah enrichment facility

    Global Laser Enrichment has submitted its full license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility in Paducah, Ky., the company said last week. The Wilmington, N.C. based company that licenses laser enrichment technology owned by Australia’s Silex Systems recently filed in its safety analysis report to complete its full license […]

  • OIG questions DOE management of HALEU demonstration contract process

    The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy miscalculated during the selection process of its High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Demonstration Project, the Department’s Office of Inspector General found in an audit. In a July 2 audit report the Office of Inspector General (OIG) found the Office of Nuclear Energy inappropriately limited competition during its pre-award […]

  • NEA tracking 74 SMRs under development worldwide

    The Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency is monitoring 74 small modular reactors across the globe that are under active development and not merely paper projects, officials said Wednesday. The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), a branch of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), used an online webinar and press conference to show off its new […]

  • Slew of hurdles could hamper nuclear resurgence

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite projected rising power demand, pro-nuclear White House orders and increased investor interest, many challenges remain for a “nuclear renaissance” to take place in the United States, an expert panel said here Wednesday. The nuclear industry has at best a “mixed” record on cost and schedule performance on nuclear power plants, said […]

  • Nuclear deployment deadlines are aggressive but needed, panel says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nuclear projects deadlines set out by President Donald Trump’s administration’s executive actions are aggressive but necessary, a panel of nuclear industry experts and members said Wednesday. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Goff, Department of Defense Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army Jeff Waksman, U.S. Nuclear Industry Council […]

  • DOE to roll out document on HALEU preparation at SRS

    The Department of Energy should soon publish its Supplement Analysis and Amended Record of Decision for blending down roughly 2.2 metric tons of highly enriched uranium in order to make about 3.1 metric tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The document should soon be published in the […]

  • Baseline study completed for potential Paducah land transfer

    The staff at the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky has completed an environmental baseline study that could set the stage for transferring 188 acres of land to local authorities for redevelopment. The 169-page study was completed by DOE and forwarded to Kentucky officials and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in late May, the […]

  • SRS targets August ribbon-cutting for Advanced Manufacturing center

    The Savannah River Site in South Carolina hopes to officially open its $66 million, offsite research center next month, following a greenlight this week from the Department of Energy to begin operations. During a bimonthly meeting of the Savannah River Site (SRS) Citizens Advisory Board, Edwin DeShong, field boss for the Office of Environmental Management […]

  • Better debriefings could demystify bid protests, panel told

    A trio of experts told a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee Tuesday that expanded debriefings on federal contract awards might reduce the number of bid protests. More detailed debriefings, which explain to bidders the rationale behind contract awards, are being used by the Department of Defense and other agencies might consider them as well,  […]

  • Two nuclear vendors combine as RSI buys Sigma Science

    RSI EnTech, based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., has acquired Albuquerque-based Sigma Science, another well-known small contractor with the Department of Energy nuclear complex, the companies announced Friday.  RSI EnTech, which is part of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Industrial or AIS, an Alaska Native corporation, did not disclose the value of the transaction in the […]

  • Industry manager takes biz development role at EnergySolutions

    Dale Vines is starting a new job as vice president of business development at Utah-based EnergySolutions. Vines, started the new position this month, according to an update on his LinkedIn page. Vines for the past two years has been executive vice president of business development for Allied Power. An industry veteran, Vines has previously worked […]

  • Review board cut down to 1 member

    The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, a small agency charged with peer research for Department of Energy management of high-level radioactive waste, is down to one board member after a round of White House dismissals. Board Chair Peter Swift is the sole member of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) as of last […]

  • Coming Up;

    Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: July: 22: Meeting: A meeting of the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board, which will be livestreamed, is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Eastern Time from the  Center for African American History, Art and Culture, 120 York Street NE, Aiken, South […]

  • Wrap Up: DOE kicks of pilot program; NEA tracks SMRs, Lawmaker defends GAO; Rocky Flats doc plays this weekend

    The Department of Energy has announced a new pilot program to strengthen the U.S. supply chains for nuclear fuel and support the expedition of the development of new advanced reactors. The initiative is intended to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium and critical materials, while allowing the private sector to invest […]

  • Water treatment facility torn down at Hanford

    A Department of Energy contractor at the Hanford Site in Washington state has finished taking down a 6,000-square-foot water treatment structure near the Columbia River that supported remediation work at the property. Crews from Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup carried out the work, DOE said in a Tuesday release. The facility provided water for firefighting and […]

  • House Appropriations bill trimming EM to $7.7 B moves to full House

    The House Appropriations Committee Thursday night passed the Energy & Water Development Appropriations bill for fiscal 2026, which trims the budget of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management to $7.7 billion, down from more than $8.4 billion in the current fiscal year. The measure passed 35-27 in the House committee and now moves […]

  • WIPP receives 59 shipments in June, most in a year

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 59 transuranic (TRU) waste shipments last month.  That is more than the 53 shipments it received in May and is the highest total the facility has received since the 64 shipments sent to WIPP in June 2024.  Of the 59 shipments, 45 […]