Department of Energy

In a Lifecycle report released every three years, the Department of Energy said costs to fully complete the nation’s biggest and most expensive nuclear cleanup in Washington State will be between $364 billion and $589.4 billion. The Hanford Lifecycle Scope, Schedule, and Cost Report, released April 15, also estimated that cleanup could not be complete […]

The Defense Innovation Unit announced April 10 next steps in its Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program to deploy microreactor nuclear systems for power reliability at select military locations. The companies selected are: Antares Nuclear BWXT Advanced Technologies General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Kairos Power Oklo Radiant Industries Incorporated Westinghouse Government Services X-energy These companies are […]

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and contractor UCOR recently finished removing legacy radioactive waste that was stored at the site for more than 50 years, according to a DOE press release. The material was used by Oak Ridge in the 1970s for experiments for scientists to understand the makeup of the atomic nucleus. […]

The city of Oak Ridge, Tenn., is studying alternative sites for a municipal airport with land cleaned up by the Department of Energy now earmarked by Orano USA for a major uranium enrichment project. Although a local airport has been long sought by the city of Oak Ridge, Exchange Monitor reported in October 2024 it […]

The city of Oak Ridge, Tenn., is studying alternative sites for a municipal airport with land cleaned up by the Department of Energy now earmarked by Orano USA for a major uranium enrichment project. Although a local airport has been long sought by the city of Oak Ridge, Exchange Monitor reported in October 2024 it […]

The DOE Hanford Site did not meet a technical safety requirement regarding the fissile mass of a waste box, according to a Feb. 28 report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Personnel at the site discovered the waste box with a fissile mass value exceeding the container limit in an outside storage area, according […]

A GE Hitachi Nuclear-led research team successfully tested new building blocks that could potentially reduce the cost of nuclear construction. In 2021, the Department of Energy (DOE) partnered up with GE Hitachi to develop three construction technologies that can collectively reduce the cost of new nuclear builds by around 10%. Through the initiative, GE Hitachi […]

The U.S. Department of Energy’s office of Environmental Management announced Tuesday it has completed construction of the fourth On-Site Waste Disposal Facility cell at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The fourth cell will be used to dispose of debris of uranium enrichment process buildings, Federal Project Director Jud Lilly said in the DOE press release. […]

The Defense Innovation Unit announced April 10 next steps in its Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program to deploy microreactor nuclear systems for power reliability at select military locations. The companies selected are: Antares Nuclear BWXT Advanced Technologies General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Kairos Power Oklo Radiant Industries Incorporated Westinghouse Government Services X-energy These companies are […]

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission issued its first construction license to an Ontario company to build a small modular reactor on April 4. Ontario Power Generation Inc. will construct a General Electric Hitachi BWRX-300 reactor at its Darlington New Nuclear Project site located in Clarington, Canada. The company expects the construction will be completed by […]

Two organizations serving the Department of Energy’s weapons complex will soon reduce staff levels at offices in Virginia. News of both layoffs were first reported April 4 by FFX Now, a local news service covering Fairfax County, Va. Reston, Va.-based Leidos, which has several DOE contracts and leads a partnership providing services at the Hanford […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 13 to 7 Wednesday to advance the nomination of James Danly to be deputy secretary of energy. The Danly nomination to be the No. 2 official in the Department of Energy can now go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. No date for such a […]

The Department of Energy has conditionally agreed to provide five companies with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for advanced nuclear projects.  The five companies awarded are: Kairos Power based in California; Radiant Industries based in California;  TerraPower based in Washington; TRISO-X, a Tennessee-based nuclear fuel subsidiary of X-Energy; and, Westinghouse Electric based in Pennsylvania. HALEU is […]

The Department of Energy has conditionally agreed to provide five companies with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for advanced nuclear projects.  The five companies awarded are: Kairos Power based in California; Radiant Industries based in California;  TerraPower based in Washington state; TRISO-X, a Tennessee-based nuclear fuel subsidiary of X-Energy; and, Westinghouse Electric based in Pennsylvania. HALEU […]

With the influx of microreactors applications, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission navigates the possibility of a six-month licensing process for microreactor deployments. Nuclear Energy Institute executive director Marc Nichol discussed the ways the NRC could consider trimming its regulatory processes in an effort to speed up advanced nuclear deployment at the NRC’s Thursday meeting.  With microreactors […]

With key Democrats denouncing any possible mass firings at the Department of Energy, the deadline is before midnight April 8 for DOE staff to opt into the latest round of voluntary buyouts. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) said April 4 they are troubled by reports by Associated Press and other media […]

In a Tuesday emergency order, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a preliminary injunction by a U.S. District Judge in California ordering federal agencies including the Department of Energy to rehire 16,000 probationary employees. Also, the Associated Press reported this week that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit voted two-to-one to overturn a […]

The Department of Energy is seeking feedback on how 16 installations, mostly in the weapons complex, stack up as potential spots to develop artificial intelligence data centers. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday April 3 that DOE is issuing a request for information on how the 16 federal properties might work for permitting and construction […]

With key Democrats denouncing any possible mass firings at the Department of Energy, the deadline was before midnight April 8 for DOE staff to opt into the latest round of voluntary buyouts. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) said April 4 they are troubled by reports by Associated Press and other media […]

Several key publicly-traded companies serving the Department of Energy’s weapons complex saw their share prices first decline, some by as much as 10%, and then bounce back in roughly a week’s time. The stock market went in a nosedive over much of the past week after President Donald Trump announced aggressive tariffs on goods from […]

Roger Jarrell, a senior adviser at the Department of Energy, was appointed Wednesday to serve as DOE’s principal deputy assistant secretary for Environmental Management. Jarrell’s appointment to the position, sometimes referred to as EM-2, means he will lead the DOE Office of Environmental Management until whatever point an assistant secretary for Environmental Management (EM-1) is […]

The Department of Energy could issue draft solicitations for key contracts at the Paducah Site in Kentucky and the Portsmouth Site in Ohio as soon as July, according to a recent notice. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said last month draft requests for proposals (RFPs) could come as early as July for Paducah environmental […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., is winding down its maintenance outage to the point it has resumed disposal of defense-related transuranic waste. DOE and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) prime, Bechtel’s Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, began the outage for refurbishment in January. The weeks-long outage, conducted for repair and replacement projects […]

In a Tuesday emergency order, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a preliminary injunction by a U.S. District Judge in California ordering federal agencies including the Department of Energy to rehire 16,000 probationary employees. Also, the Associated Press reported this week that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit voted two-to-one to overturn a […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 13 to 7 Wednesday to advance the nomination of James Danly to be deputy secretary of energy. The Danly nomination to be the No. 2 official in the Department of Energy can now go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. No date for such a […]

With the top two feds at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state leaving, an interim deputy manager, Brian Harkins, has been appointed effective April 3. The selection of Harkins to serve as the acting deputy was announced in a recent staff memo from DOE Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance. Harkins replaced deputy […]

The Department of Energy has conditionally agreed to provide five companies with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for advanced nuclear projects.  The five companies awarded are: Kairos Power based in California; Radiant Industries based in California;  TerraPower based in Washington; TRISO-X, a Tennessee-based nuclear fuel subsidiary of X-Energy; and, Westinghouse Electric based in Pennsylvania. HALEU is […]

Roger Jarrell, a senior adviser at the Department of Energy, was appointed Wednesday to serve as DOE’s principal deputy assistant secretary for Environmental Management. Jarrell’s appointment to the position, sometimes referred to as EM-2, means he will lead the DOE Office of Environmental Management until whatever point an assistant secretary for Environmental Management (EM-1) is […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 13 to 7 Wednesday to advance the nomination of James Danly to be deputy secretary of energy. The Danly nomination to be the No. 2 official in the Department of Energy can now go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. No date for such a […]

In a Tuesday emergency order, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a preliminary injunction by a U.S. District Judge in California ordering federal agencies including the Department of Energy to rehire 16,000 probationary employees. The March 13, preliminary injunction entered by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California is stayed pending the […]