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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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Round Up: Centrus to join S&P SmallCap 600 Index; Moul joins Standard Nuclear’s board
Centrus Energy will join the S&P SmallCap 600 Index before markets open July 14, a move the company said reflects its growing role in rebuilding the U.S. nuclear fuel supply chain and expanding domestic uranium enrichment capacity. “Our invitation into the S&P SmallCap 600 reflects the progress our team has made and the expanding role […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Local authorities investigate fatal head-on crash inside Hanford gate
The Department of Energy and local law enforcement are investigating a fatal head-on collision that occurred Wednesday evening inside a Hanford Site security gate after a speeding car, reportedly driven by an ex-Hanford worker, dodged the check point and struck a DOE Hanford Patrol vehicle. The Tri-City Herald reported Thursday that a Toyota Camry driven […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Details available on upcoming Hanford lab procurement sessions
July 7 marked the deadline for parties interested in learning more about the draft request for proposals (RFP) for the 222-S Laboratory management contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., to sign up for a site tour and information sessions later this month. The department will hold a Hanford Site tour […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
DOE plans for wider-scale cesium removal at Hanford
The Department of Energy briefed residents in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state last month on its plans to expand upon its Tank-Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) technology at the Hanford Site. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management provided a public briefing June 17 at the Richland, Wash., public library on plans to “bring existing modular cesium […]
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Vitrification & Grout
EM-1 Walsh wants greater “urgency” on state grout permit for Hanford
The head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, Tim Walsh, recently wrote the director of Washington state’s Department of Ecology to stress “the urgency” DOE places on state approval of grouting some of Hanford Site’s less-radioactive waste. DOE appreciates Washington state’s “willingness to consider our proposed ‘glass-plus-grout’ strategy” for the 200 East […]
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Budget & Policy
EM agrees with GAO on need of more review of high-dollar projects
The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch agrees with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that DOE should not rush into costly infrastructure projects before doing more research up front. By the end of 2026, the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) will look to implement two GAO recommendations in a recently-released report, the head of […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Aalo becomes 4th test reactor to reach criticality by July 4
Austin, Texas-based Aalo Atomics’s test reactor Aalo-X reached zero-power criticality over the weekend, making it the fourth reactor to hit this milestone by the July 4 target deadline. The Department of Energy said in a Monday press release that Aalo’s sodium-cooled reactor achieved criticality on Saturday morning at its Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Aalo previously […]
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National Laboratories
INL extends application deadline for DOME test bed
The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) extended the deadline for the request for application (RFA) for testing at its National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC) Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) facility to July 17. NRIC’s DOME, which is located at INL, RFA’s original deadline was slated for June 19. This updated deadline is due […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
DOE expects Genesis Mission to double R&D productivity over next decade
The Department of Energy expects its artificial intelligence-focused Genesis Mission to double productivity of the nation’s research and development (R&D) enterprise over the next decade, Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil said during an Amazon Web Services event. “Ultimately, we seek to double the productivity and impact of America’s trillion-dollar-a-year R&D engine within a decade,” […]
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Vitrification & Grout
EM-1 Walsh wants greater “urgency” on state grout permit for Hanford
The head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, Tim Walsh, wrote the director of Washington state’s Department of Ecology to stress “the urgency” DOE places on state approval of grouting some of Hanford Site’s less-radioactive waste. DOE appreciates Washington state’s “willingness to consider our proposed ‘glass-plus-grout’ strategy” for the 200 East Area […]
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Transuranic Waste
Hanford shipments to WIPP could start in a year
The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state continues to prepare to ship transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico and could start sending drums there within a year, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) update. In a DNFSB resident inspector report for the week ended […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Aleut to provide biz support at Oak Ridge
Aleut Government Services has been awarded a $6.2-million contract by the Department of Energy Office of Science for administrative and business support services at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The award notice was posted online July 6. Aleut Government Services business address is listed as Colorado Springs, Colo., according to the notice. Aleut Government […]
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Budget & Policy
EM agrees with GAO on need of more review of high-dollar projects
The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch agrees with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that DOE should not rush into costly infrastructure projects before doing more research up front. By the end of 2026, the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) will look to implement two GAO recommendations in a recently-released report, the head of […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Aalo becomes 4th test reactor to reach criticality by July 4
Austin, Texas-based Aalo Atomics’s test reactor Aalo-X reached zero-power criticality over the weekend, making it the fourth reactor to hit this milestone by the July 4 target deadline. The Department of Energy said in a Monday press release that Aalo’s sodium-cooled reactor achieved criticality on Saturday morning at its Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Aalo previously […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP community forum slated for August
The Department of Energy and its prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) will hold a community meeting next month in Hobbs, N.M. The meeting by DOE and Becthel-led contractor Salado Isolation Mining Contractors is scheduled for Wednesday Aug. 5 starting at 3 p.m. Mountain Time at Hobbs City Hall, according to a […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
DOE expects Genesis Mission to double R&D productivity over next decade
The Department of Energy expects its artificial intelligence-focused Genesis Mission to double productivity of the nation’s research and development (R&D) enterprise over the next decade, Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil said during an Amazon Web Services event. “Ultimately, we seek to double the productivity and impact of America’s trillion-dollar-a-year R&D engine within a decade,” […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Los Alamos investigating furnace glovebox fire inside plutonium facility
Officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are investigating a June 15 furnace fire inside a glovebox at the laboratory’s plutonium facility after operators observed smoke and flames during recovery and purification operations. The incident prompted an emergency response but caused no injuries, radiological release or damage beyond the affected equipment, according to […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE plans for wider-scale cesium removal at Hanford
The Department of Energy briefed residents in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state last month on its plans to expand upon its Tank-Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) technology at the Hanford Site. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management provided a public briefing June 17 at the Richland, Wash., public library on plans to “bring existing modular cesium […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Details available on upcoming Hanford lab procurement sessions
Parties interested in learning more about the draft request for proposals (RFP) for the 222-S Laboratory management contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., should sign up by Tuesday July 7 for a site tour and information sessions later this month. The department will hold a Hanford Site tour on Tuesday […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: GAO says EM should rush into costly projects; Hanford Site permit comment period starts; Centrus, DOE ink $900M contract; more
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management should not rush to embrace costly nuclear cleanup options without first checking with independent experts on less-expensive alternatives, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Thursday July 2. In the just-released report, GAO said the DOE cleanup branch needs to do more research before advocating megadollar solutions. DOE […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus, DOE ink $900 million uranium enrichment contract
Centrus Energy and the Department of Energy have signed the contract for the $900 million DOE award to bolster the domestic uranium enrichment production that was announced in January. American Centrifuge Operating, a Centrus company, was one of the three companies awarded $900 million by DOE, totaling $2.7 billion given out in task orders. Centrus […]
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National Laboratories
Round Up: DOE approves Oklo’s Groves DSA; German nuclear plant restarts called for; DOE Lab and UK authority join forces for fusion
The Department of Energy has approved the documented safety analysis for Oklo’s Groves Isotope test reactor in Lockhart, Texas under its reactor pilot program. This approval under DOE’s authorization for the reactor pilot program puts Oklo’s Groves test reactor into its final pre-startup phase, the operational readiness review, Oklo said in a Wednesday press release. […]
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National Laboratories
Deployable Energy makes third reactor to go critical under DOE program
Deployable Energy’s Unity project has become the third advanced reactor to reach zero-power criticality by July 4. Houston, Texas-based Deployable Energy, founded in 2025, achieved this milestone under the DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad Initiative, which is the successor to DOE’s reactor pilot program. The Launch Pad, established in March, is based at the National […]
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Defense Low-Level Waste
NRC seeks clear path for GTCC waste disposal
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued proposed rules late last week that would make several changes designed to ease management and disposal of greater-than-class-c (GTCC) radioactive waste. NRC said in a June 25 press release the proposed rule “would modernize the NRC’s framework for land disposal of low-level radioactive waste by allowing disposal facilities to use […]
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Budget & Policy
Plenty of nuclear amendments proposed for House 2027 energy & water bill
As of Wednesday afternoon, it appears no date has been set for the full House of Representatives to take up the House Appropriations Committee version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill, which was considered by the House Rules Committee last week. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) who chairs the House Appropriations Energy & […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
S.C. governor’s race now set with Wilson’s GOP runoff win
The November race for governor in the major nuclear state of South Carolina is now set after state Attorney General Alan Wilson defeated Lieutenant Gov. Pamela Evette, who was backed by President Trump, in a GOP primary runoff last week. Wilson, who as attorney general spearheaded litigation over a cancelled project at the Department of […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
New Mexico, DOE differ on combating Los Alamos chromium plume
SANTA FE, N.M — State regulators and Department of Energy managers last week presented competing views on how to remedy a decades-old hexavalent chromium plume beneath and beyond the Los Alamos National Laboratory during a New Mexico Environment Department public meeting on ongoing efforts. The plume, linked to old power plant operations at Los Alamos […]
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Budget & Policy
Plenty of nuclear amendments proposed for House 2027 energy & water bill
As of Monday afternoon, it appears no date has been set for the full House of Representatives to take up the House Appropriations Committee version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill, which was considered by the House Rules Committee last week. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) who chairs the House Appropriations Energy & […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Pike County wants Congress to include Portsmouth in RECA program
The Pike County, Ohio General Health District wants Congress to extend coverage under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to residents in areas around the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. Localities around DOE’s Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant complex were not included in the last RECA expansion, which became part of the so-called One Big Beautiful […]
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Decommissioning
West Valley workers take down ventilation structure
Crews at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York have torn down a ventilation system building and will prepare to dismantle the Fuel Receiving and Storage Facility, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said last week. The recently-demolished Replacement Ventilation Unit was only built in the mid-2010s after crews deactivated the shuttered […]














