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.
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National Laboratories
Santa Fe commissioners leery of LANL expansion into Northern New Mexico
In response to a recent environmental report, Santa Fe County commissioners reportedly plan to raise concerns about impacts of a potential expansion of the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory on regional resources. According to an article last week in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, the county commissioners are preparing to respond to […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Think tank examines Appalachia’s new nuclear potential
A member of the House Appropriation Committee from Tennessee and nuclear advocates took part in a think tank-sponsored webinar Thursday on the potential for developing advanced reactors in coal-heavy Appalachia. The Atlantic Council’s Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative, which last month released a report dubbed “Atoms for Appalachia” after holding a series of workshops that explores […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Nuclear board urges waste repository, does not say how
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) has recommended Congress and the Department of Energy (DOE) formally start planning for a permanent geologic repository for nuclear waste. The Technical Review Board said it is seeking a “workable pathway” to site, license, build and operate the facility for spent fuel and high-level waste, but is not […]
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National Laboratories
Santa Fe commissioners leery of LANL expansion into Northern New Mexico
In response to a recent environmental report, Santa Fe County commissioners reportedly plan to raise concerns about impacts of a potential expansion of the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory on regional resources. According to an article last week in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, the county commissioners are preparing to respond to […]
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Decommissioning
Livermore crews prepare to remove slab at Building 251
Work crews at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will soon start removing the concrete slab from the site of Building 251, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday. Once the slab is gone, Building 251 or the Heavy Elements Facility will become available for future work by DOE and its […]
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Reindustrialization & Redevelopment
Locals still have fingers crossed on major Hanford solar project
Local development officials in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state remain cautiously optimistic a major new solar power project envisioned for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site will happen despite a change in administrations. Officials at DOE and the Chicago-based developer, Hecate Energy, both declined comment last week. Also last week, Roger Jarrell, a DOE […]
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Recommissioning & Restarts
Holtec awarded second tranche of DOE loan money for Palisades
The Department of Energy said Monday it is awarding Holtec the second phase of a federal loan, this chunk worth nearly $57 million, to go toward reviving the closed Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan. Providing it wins the necessary Nuclear Regulatory Commission approvals, the 800-megawatt facility would effectively become the nation’s first restart of […]
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Budget & Policy
Former House Appropriations chair Lowey dies at 87
Former U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the first woman to control Congressional purse strings, died over the weekend at age 87 after a battle with breast cancer, major news outlets reported over the weekend. Lowey, a former chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, spent several terms in Congress, but decided not to seek re-election […]
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Contracts & Procurement
EM contracts go under magnifying glass in search of DOGE savings
Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup field bosses and top brass have until Friday to review existing contracts and recommend which ones should be retained, tweaked or terminated, according to an Office of Environmental Management memo. This “review of covered contracts and grants” is implemented under President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14222, according to the March […]
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Budget & Policy
With passage of six-month funding, government stays open through Sept. 30
A bill agreeing to a continuing resolution to avert a shutdown and fund the U.S. through the end of the fiscal year, passed the Senate 54-to-46 on Friday afternoon and was signed by President Donald Trump. A measure to allow the measure to proceed to a floor vote and the final vote itself occurred […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Amentum boss lauds Oak Ridge for cleanup, bid development
PHOENIX —The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee is an example of where remediation successfully cleared the way for new nuclear and other business ventures, an Amentum executive told the Waste Management Symposia here last week. The former Oak Ridge gaseous diffusion “plant has been transformed into a clean, modernized, multi-use industrial park, […]
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Budget & Policy
Top Senate Democrat Schumer backs CR over government shutdown
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday he intends to vote to advance a Republican-drafted stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government operating through the rest of fiscal 2025. Unless a continuing resolution was approved Friday, the government would partially shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. A vote was expected Friday after the […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
TerraPower’s nuclear plant license review advances at NRC
Federal review of TerraPower’s advanced nuclear plant under construction in Wyoming is about two months ahead of schedule and remains on pace for completion in 2030, company officials announced at a nuclear conference on Wednesday. TerraPower’s proposal to develop a nuclear plant in Wyoming coal country is meeting requirements outlined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: DOE exec talks costs; Canada touts waste site process; NNSA issues RFP; more
PHOENIX – Expediting nuclear cleanup and making it less expensive is vital to the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, a senior adviser to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said here Monday. Current projections indicate the Hanford Site in Washington state, which once produced plutonium for the government, won’t be fully cleaned up until […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Federal attendance down, anxiety up annual Waste Management
PHOENIX —After layoffs and buyouts and the possibility of a government shutdown, the Department of Energy presence was lighter than usual at the annual Waste Management Symposia here. Although no official figures were immediately available, the buzz at a Sunday night reception here was that while DOE and its nuclear cleanup arm typically send around […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Cleanup office, DOE Legacy Management already talking Moab handoff
PHOENIX —With remediation of an old uranium tailings pile along the Colorado River in Utah entering the home stretch, a Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management executive said Monday that closure plans are already being discussed. With only one million tons left to be removed from a tailings pile near the Colorado River, Environmental […]
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Vitrification & Grout
DOE planning large-scale grouting at Hanford
PHOENIX—— The Department of Energy could ultimately solidify between 20 million and 30 million gallons of lower-level radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site into a concrete-like grout form, a senior manager at the nuclear cleanup site said here Wednesday. DOE managers at the Hanford Site in Washington state are talking with commercial providers on […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Bechtel appoints Dena Volovar to head nuclear subsidiary
Contractor Bechtel announced Monday it appointed Dena Volovar as the new president of its Nuclear, Security & Energy business. Volovar succeeds John Howanitz, who will retire in April after 42 years at Bechtel, according to the company press release. Volovar’s tenure at Bechtel extends 26 years, most recently as executive vice president and manager of […]
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Reindustrialization & Redevelopment
No decisions yet on fate of DOE Cleanup to Clean Energy
PHOENIX — The Department of Energy during President Donald Trump’s second term hasn’t focused on a Joe Biden administration effort to tap underused land at federal nuclear sites for carbon-free power, an Environmental Management official said Monday. With the administration being “new,” less than two months old, no decisions on the Cleanup to Clean Energy […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford deputy manager Stickney leaving DOE
It is official: Brian Stickney, deputy manager for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, is retiring from the federal government, according to a memo viewed by Exchange Monitor. “After more than 15 years with the U.S. Department of Energy and over 30 years with the federal government, HFO [Hanford Field Office] Deputy […]
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Reindustrialization & Redevelopment
No decisions yet on fate of DOE Cleanup to Clean Energy
PHOENIX — The Department of Energy during President Donald Trump’s second term hasn’t focused on a Joe Biden administration effort to tap underused land at federal nuclear sites for carbon-free power, an Environmental Management official said Monday. With the administration being “new,” less than two months old, no decisions on the Cleanup to Clean Energy […]
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Budget & Policy
Top Senate Democrat Schumer backs CR over government shutdown
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday he intends to vote to advance a Republican-drafted stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government operating through the rest of fiscal 2025. Unless a continuing resolution was approved Friday, the government would partially shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. A vote was expected Friday after the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Colorado developer Walsh nominated to head Environmental Management
President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Energy’s multibillion-dollar Office of Environmental Management, is founder of a real estate development business in Golden, Colo. Tim Walsh founded Confluence Companies in 2006 and the business has 15 developments, including apartment complexes, condominiums and hotels, according to the company’s website. Walsh is an Army veteran […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Colorado’s Walsh nominated to head Environmental Management
The Donald Trump administration is nominating Timothy John Walsh of Colorado to become the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management, according to an entry in Monday’s Congressional Record. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is also from Colorado. If confirmed, Walsh would be the first Senate-confirmed assistant secretary for environmental management (EM-1) since Anne Marie […]
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Budget & Policy
Top Senate Democrat Schumer backs CR over government shutdown
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday he intends to vote to advance a Republican-drafted stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government operating through the rest of fiscal 2025. Unless a continuing resolution was approved Friday, the government would partially shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. A vote was expected Friday after Exchange […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford lost 51 to job cuts, manager says
PHOENIX — The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., lost 51 employees to federal job cuts so far, a senior manager at the nuclear cleanup complex said here Wednesday. At the same time, Delmar Noyes, a senior DOE manager at the former plutonium production site, said having a single Hanford Field Office helps […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Workforce makes existing sites attractive for nuclear, ECA says
A report the Energy Communities Alliance is rolling out this week at the Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix says existing Department of Energy nuclear installations and other electric power sites are increasingly being targeted for new reactors. The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) report is titled “From the Atomic Age to New Nuclear: Energy Communities Ready […]
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Transuranic Waste
Congressman gets GSA memo on keeping WIPP building
The member of Congress whose district includes the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico has received written assurance from the General Services Administration that the lease for the DOE Carlsbad Field Office won’t be terminated. A spokesperson for Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) said Friday the lawmaker has received written word from […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford deputy manager Stickney leaving DOE
It is official: Brian Stickney, deputy manager for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, is retiring from the federal government, according to a memo viewed by Exchange Monitor. “After more than 15 years with the U.S. Department of Energy and over 30 years with the federal government, HFO [Hanford Field Office] Deputy […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
EM-1 nominee heads real estate development biz
President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Energy’s multibillion-dollar Office of Environmental Management, is founder of a real estate development business in Golden, Colo. Tim Walsh founded Confluence Companies in 2006 and the business has 15 developments, including apartment complex, condominiums and hotels, according to the company’s website. Walsh is an Army veteran […]












