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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Contracts & Procurement
NNSA awards PanTexas Deterrence Pantex contract
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration Thursday awarded a contract for management and operation of the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas to a joint venture called PanTeXas Deterrence LLC, led by Lynchburg, Va. based BWX Technologies. That is according to a notice on the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM.gov). The award […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Supreme Court asked to hear Interim Storage Partners case
Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture between Orano and Waste Control Specialists, wants the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider an August ruling by a federal appeals court that effectively blocked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from approving a private temporary spent nuclear fuel storage site in Andrews County, Texas. A three-judge panel for the Fifth U.S. […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Two longtime weapons complex managers join Longenecker board
Jack Anderson and Sandra Fairchild, two experienced hands around the Department of Energy’s weapons complex, have joined the advisory board for Las Vegas-based contractor Longenecker & Associates, the company said this week. Anderson logged more than 30 years with DOE and its national laboratories, including tours with Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York and the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Equity executive to leave DOE
Shalanda Baker, who heads the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Justice and Equity, will leave DOE at the end of June, a DOE spokesperson said Wednesday. Baker joined DOE in January 2021, first as the deputy director of Energy Justice and adviser to the secretary on equity, the DOE spokesperson said in an email […]
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Transuranic Waste
Idaho National Lab shipments provide more than 70% of WIPP traffic
The Idaho National Laboratory has accounted for about 71% of shipments to the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., over three years, the manager of DOE’s Idaho Cleanup Project told an advisory board Wednesday. Under Idaho’s updated spent fuel settlement agreement with DOE and the U.S. Navy, the lab is supposed […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
NNSA picks Estuary for a solar project at Nevada Site
The Department of Energy and its Nevada National Security Administration Wednesday announced the selection of a solar developer to pursue a carbon-free electric project at the Nevada National Security Site. Under the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have selected Estuary Power LLC & NV Energy as the […]
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Decommissioning
DOE spent fuel official to address San Onofre community panel
Paul Murray, the Department of Energy’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and high-level waste, will address a community panel on the decommissioning of a retired Southern California Edison nuclear plant on Thursday, according to the electric utility. Murray will discuss the federal spent fuel management program during a quarterly meeting of the San Onofre […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Broken ceramic filter elements linked to latest IWTU woes, DOE says
Environmental crews at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory have discovered three broken ceramic filter elements are to blame for stalling operations at a plant built to solidify liquid sodium-bearing radioactive waste. In March, DOE and its Jacobs-led contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition, decided to suspend restart of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU). While […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Nuclear executive in Tennessee dies, sources say
An executive at American Demolition and Nuclear Decommissioning, John (Rick) Dearholt has died, the head of a Knoxville-based nuclear trade organization confirmed by phone Tuesday morning. A memorial service for Dearholt, a longtime board member for the Energy, Technology & Environmental Business Association, is set for Friday June 21, said the executive director of the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE remains mum on Portsmouth transition, PPPO award
Although 11 months have elapsed since the Department of Energy awarded a new $5.9-billion environmental cleanup contract at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, DOE’s cleanup office still isn’t saying when the new contractor will take over from Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth. In an email reply Monday to Exchange Monitor, a DOE spokesperson declined to say when Southern […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Thirteen potential bidders show up for Paducah landlord info session
A baker’s dozen of contractors joined Department of Energy representatives May 29 to learn more about the draft solicitation for a new small business landlord contractor at the Paducah Site in Kentucky. The DOE Office of Environmental Management issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) last month for a small business to act as a […]
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Contracts & Procurement
DOE cleanup branch starts market research on potential cyber security contract
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is commencing market research for its cyber security needs in Cincinnati and Washington, D.C. In a May 30 notice, DOE issued a request for information for technology and cyber security needs at the cleanup office’s Washington, D.C., headquarters and the Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center in Ohio. […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Final RFP issued for DOE cleanup consolidated tech support contract
The Department of Energy nuclear cleanup branch has issued its final solicitation for a five-year, potential $90-million Consolidated Technical Support Services contract for field offices and sub- offices. The final request for proposals (RFP) for the small business set-aside contract was published Thursday June 6 in the government’s online System for Award Management (SAM.gov), by […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
This Week
Here are some events related to civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week. June 12: Hybrid public meeting, Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Idaho Cleanup Project. Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Events Center, 777 Bannock Avenue, Fort Hall, Idaho. Streaming on Zoom. 11:00 a.m. Eastern time to 6:45 p.m. Eastern time. 12: Hybrid […]
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Commercial Decommissioning
U.S. commercial nuclear sector enjoys reversal of fortune
LOUISVILLE, KY— In a five-year span, prospects for the U.S. commercial nuclear power sector have gone from gloomy to upbeat, an executive with the industry group, Nuclear Energy Institute, said here last week. As recently as 2019, up to 20 U.S. reactors, or more than one-fifth of the fleet, were expected to shut down under […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Boston Government founder steps down as CEO
Harry Boston, founder of Boston Government Services, is stepping down as CEO and being succeeded by chief operating officer Doug Freund, the Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Department of Energy contractor said May 31. Boston, who started Boston Government Services (BGS) in 2007, sold his ownership stake to Louisiana-based Bernhard Capital Partners in 2022, according to the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap up: Baltzer appointed Deep Isolation CEO; Paducah water tower comes down; Drone checks out area of WIPP underground
California-based Deep Isolation has appointed Rod Baltzer as its new chief executive officer effective Jane 1, the company said May 31. Baltzer has been chief operating officer of Deep Isolation since 2018, the company said in a press release. Baltzer was previously president and CEO of Waste Control Specialists in Andrews County, Texas. Baltzer helped […]
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Recommissioning & Restarts
Round Up: Constellation undecided on TMI-1 restart; Army looks at microreactors; TVA Watts Bar gets new boss
Baltimore-based Constellation Energy has not decided if it will pursue restart of its Three Mile Island Unit 1 reactor in Pennsylvania, which was shuttered for economic reasons in 2019, the company said Thursday in an email response to an inquiry from Exchange Monitor. “Restarting closed nuclear plants offers another opportunity for the industry to add […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
Two developers picked by DOE for solar projects at Idaho National Lab
The Department of Energy Wednesday announced the selection of two companies that will potentially develop hundreds of megawatts of electricity from solar power at the Idaho National Laboratory. NorthRenew Energy Partners and Spitfire propose to install a combined total of 400 megawatts of carbon-free electricity at Idaho National Laboratory under DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Expensive cyber rules on the way for federal contracts, ex-CIO warns
LOUISVILLE, KY. — The Department of Energy’s former chief information officer warns the federal government will become more demanding on cyber security requirements for contractors, and that it’s likely to be costly and time-consuming. “Agencies are updating policies,” Rocky Campione, vice president of cybersecurity and technology solutions for Boston Government Services, said here Wednesday. Campione […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
Two developers picked by DOE for solar projects at Idaho National Lab
The Department of Energy Wednesday announced the selection of two companies that will potentially develop hundreds of megawatts of electricity from solar power at the Idaho National Laboratory. NorthRenew Energy Partners and Spitfire propose to install a combined total of 400 megawatts of carbon-free electricity at Idaho National Laboratory under DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE turns attention to groundwater cleanup at Oak Ridge uranium enrichment area
The Department of Energy should finish soil remediation this year at the former K-25 gaseous diffusion complex at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, and turn to groundwater now that regulators have signed off on written decisions. The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management said last week in a press release the Tennessee […]
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Commercial Low-Level Waste
Texas governor wary of accepting GTCC waste
With the Nuclear Regulatory Commission moving toward updated regulations on disposal of both low-level waste and Greater Than Class C waste, the governor of Texas is reluctant to allow the latter in his state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in a May letter to the head of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said his […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP ventilation readiness assessment expected by year end
LOUISVILLE, KY. —A readiness assessment should occur by December for the new ventilation system at the Department of Energy’s disposal site in New Mexico for defense-related transuranic waste, a manager for the prime said here Tuesday. That review and a DOE safety assessment should clear the way the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to start […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Baltzer appointed Deep Isolation CEO; Muller becomes chair
California-based Deep Isolation has appointed Rod Baltzer as its new chief executive officer effective Jane 1, the company said Friday. Baltzer has been chief operating officer of Deep Isolation since 2018, the company said in a press release. Baltzer was previously president and CEO of Waste Control Specialists in Andrews County, Texas. Baltzer helped steer […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Expensive cyber rules on the way for federal contracts, ex-CIO warns
LOUISVILLE, KY. — The Department of Energy’s former chief information officer warns the federal government will become more demanding on cyber security requirements for contractors, and that it’s likely to be costly and time-consuming. “Agencies are updating policies,” Rocky Campione, vice president of cybersecurity and technology solutions for Boston Government Services, said here Wednesday. Campione […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Expensive cyber rules on the way for federal contracts, ex-CIO warns
LOUISVILLE, KY. — The Department of Energy’s former chief information officer warns the federal government will become more demanding on cyber security requirements for contractors, and that it’s likely to be costly and time-consuming. “Agencies are updating policies,” Rocky Campione, vice president of cybersecurity and technology solutions for Boston Government Services, said here Wednesday. Campione […]
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Budget & Policy
With RECA slated to expire, pressure builds on GOP speaker
The bipartisan-supported Radiation Exposure Compensation Act will expire today June 7 barring last minute reauthorization, and some lawmakers continue to voice their dissatisfaction with an extension that would not expand the number of nuclear workers who might qualify. “I am disappointed that Speaker [Mike] Johnson sent the House home without taking action on RECA before […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE cleanup branch updates asset needs
LOUISVILLE, KY —The Department of Energy’s $8-billion nuclear cleanup branch will put out its updated Master Asset Plan, sometime between late summer and the end of the year, the acting director of infrastructure told the Radwaste Summit here Tuesday. “What is the future use of these facilities,” is an ongoing issue at the DOE Office […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
Two developers picked by DOE for solar projects at Idaho National Lab
The Department of Energy Wednesday announced the selection of two companies that will potentially develop hundreds of megawatts of electricity from solar power at the Idaho National Laboratory. NorthRenew Energy Partners and Spitfire propose to install a combined total of 400 megawatts of carbon-free electricity at Idaho National Laboratory under DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy […]











