Department of Energy

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday morning on the nomination of James Danly to be deputy secretary of energy. Danly, nominated by President Donald Trump on Jan. 22 to be the second-ranking person at the Department of Energy, told the committee last week if confirmed he would try to […]

With Indiana looking to encourage nuclear power projects, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) announced Monday the state of Indiana will host an informational retreat on the issue. The retreat is sponsored by the Department of Energy and National Governors Association and will be held this summer. No specific date has been set.  The goals of […]

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 […]

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 […]

Several key publicly-traded companies serving the Department of Energy’s weapons complex have seen their share prices decline over the past week. The stock market has been in a nosedive over much of the past week after President Donald Trump announced aggressive tariffs on goods from other nations. Below is a brief look at where key […]

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

Two organizations serving the Department of Energy’s weapons complex, one a multibillion-dollar contractor and the other a non-profit research entity, will soon reduce staff levels at offices in Virginia. Reston, Va.-based Leidos, which has several DOE contracts and leads a partnership providing services at the Hanford Site in Washington state, will be cutting its northern […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hear testimony Tuesday morning from President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. Brandon Williams, the administration’s nominee to be undersecretary of energy for nuclear security, is one of four nominees scheduled to testify during a confirmation hearing Tuesday to start at […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: 08: Hearing: Senate Armed Services holds a confirmation hearing on National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) nominee Brandon Williams starting at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time..  16: Meeting: The Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association kicks off a two-day meeting on New Mexico Federal […]

The area around the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in western Kentucky was facing a flood warning Sunday evening. The flood warning was in effect until 7 p.m. Central Time, according to the National Weather Service forecast. Some minor flooding was already occurring and moderate flooding was forecast around the Ohio River in Paducah, according […]

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 […]

John (Jay) Mullis, who recently retired as head of the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management office at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, didn’t stay idle long — he announced in a weekend LinkedIn post he has agreed to become chief nuclear officer for United Cleanup Oak Ridge. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting […]

The Senate on Wednesday afternoon unveiled its updated budget resolution that sets a blueprint for passing Trump administration priorities, retaining a proposal to boost defense spending by $150 billion. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), chair of the Budget Committee, said President Trump is “fully on board” with the upper chamber’s new resolution, which also includes raising […]

Orano USA signed a contract with an unidentified nuclear power plant in a Southern state to transfer and store used nuclear fuel onsite. The contract between Maryland-based Orano USA and the nuclear energy facility was announced on Thursday in a press release. The Orano USA spokesperson said the company was not able to disclose the […]

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are appealing a U.S. District judge decision limiting temporary reinstatement of probationary staff at the Department of Energy and many other federal agencies to just states that sued the Donald Trump Administration over mass firings. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of DOE, the Department of […]

While plans for new nuclear units have garnered a lot of interest lately, challenges including workforce and licensing still dictate when the projects can deploy, according to panelists in an Energy Communities Alliance webinar. The ECA held a webinar “Open for Business – New Nuclear Opportunities” on Wednesday with panelists weighing in on the landscape […]

The Donald Trump administration’s pick to be deputy secretary of energy, told a Senate panel Wednesday that if confirmed his focus would be on easing federal regulatory approval for new infrastructure and electricity projects.   In his prepared testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, James Danly also said keeping the Department of Energy’s […]

Secretary of Energy Chis Wright told Fox Business News last week that deleting diversity language from a federal request for proposals, could attract more interest in new small modular reactor technology funds. The Department of Energy last week issued a $900-million solicitation for small modular reactor (SMR) technology. The DOE press release from March 24 […]

The Department of Energy has circulated its own Deferred Resignation Plan, akin to the Office of Personnel Management’s earlier “Fork in the Road” initiative, and responses are due Tuesday April 8, according to a Monday memo from Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. The new DOE buyout is spawned by President Donald Trump’s Feb. 11 executive […]

Dow and X-energy Reactor Co. have submitted a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a proposed advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, Texas. Long Mott Energy, Dow’s subsidiary, submitted the application on Monday.  Reviewing the application can take up to 30 months, as noted in the Dow and X-Energy press release. If the […]

The Donald Trump administration’s pick to be deputy secretary of energy, told a Senate panel Wednesday that if confirmed his focus would be on easing federal regulatory approval for new infrastructure and electricity projects.   In his prepared testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, James Danly also said keeping the Department of Energy’s […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site has completed nearly half of the plutonium downblends it scheduled for fiscal year 2025, the site’s interim manager reported earlier this week.  Managers at the DOE site, located near Aiken, S.C., updated South Carolina’s Nuclear Advisory Council on several production and remediation goals on tap for the fiscal […]

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are appealing a U.S. District judge decision limiting temporary reinstatement of probationary staff at the Department of Energy and many other federal agencies to just states that sued the Donald Trump Administration over mass firings. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of DOE, the Department of […]

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are appealing a U.S. District judge decision limiting temporary reinstatement of probationary staff at the Department of Energy and many other federal agencies to just states that sued the Donald Trump Administration over mass firings. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of DOE, the Department of […]

The departure of the Department of Energy’s top manager for nuclear cleanup at the Hanford Site in Washington state as well as federal layoffs at site, concern the head of the advocacy group Hanford Challenge. In a Friday email response to Exchange Monitor the executive director of Seattle-based Hanford Challenge said he was caught off […]

John (Jay) Mullis finished his federal career last week as the Department of Energy’s manager for nuclear cleanup at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, with deputy Eric Olds stepping in as the acting boss. The transition was confirmed via email Monday by a spokesperson for DOE. Exchange Monitor first reported the Mullis retirement plans […]

The Department of Energy cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory continues to find more old drums of transuranic waste with leaks and corrosion problems at the lab’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, according to a safety board. The issue was cited in a regular report on Idaho National Laboratory (INL) remediation work by the […]

The chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Energy and Water wants to see the Department of Energy’s nuclear-related programs receive as much money as realistically possible during a period of government cutbacks. “I want to see the most robust budgets that we can — understanding that we are in tight fiscal times,” Rep. Chuck […]

The Department of Energy has circulated its own Deferred Resignation Plan, akin to the Office of Personnel Management’s earlier “Fork in the Road” initiative, and responses are due Tuesday April 8, according to a Monday memo from Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. The new DOE buyout is spawned by President Donald Trump’s Feb. 11 executive […]

A virtual public meeting is scheduled April 30 on a proposal to build a facility to analyze, store and process transuranic and mixed low-level wastes at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. DOE’s Hanford Field Office and the Washington state Department of Ecology will hold the briefing at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time. […]