Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) voted against David Wright’s renomination to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week citing concerns that NRC is losing its independence.  Wright’s nomination passed out of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in a 10 to 9 vote on July 9.  All of the Republicans on the committee voted yes, […]

Robert (Bob) Alvarez, a former Senate staffer, 1990s Department of Energy official and nuclear watchdog, died July 1 following a years-long battle with Parkinson’s disease at age 78.  The Institute for Policy Studies and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published remembrances of Alvarez in recent days.  Among other things, Alvarez worked on the Senate […]

Brian Vance, the Department of Energy’s former manager of nuclear cleanup at the Hanford Site in Washington state is the new site leader at the Framatome nuclear fuel plant in Richland, Wash. The Tri-City Herald reported Monday Vance started working as a manager for the Framatome fuel manufacturing plant July 9. The company subsequently confirmed […]

The Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency is monitoring 74 small modular reactors across the globe that are under active development and not merely paper projects, officials said Wednesday. The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), a branch of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), used an online webinar and press conference to show off its new […]

Nuclear energy spending would receive a boost in fiscal 2026 legislation laid out July 13 by the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water subcommittee. In the proposed House Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations subcommittee bill, the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy would receive $1.795 billion, which is $110 million more […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently accepted for review the Tennessee Valley Authority’s construction permit application for the Clinch River nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.  NRC told TVA in a July 9 letter it has completed the acceptance review for the second part of the construction permit application. The regulator previously completed the first half […]

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) voted against David Wright’s re-nomination to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week citing concerns that NRC is losing its independence.  Wright’s nomination passed out of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in a 10 to 9 vote on July 9.  All of the Republicans on the committee voted yes, […]

Global Laser Enrichment has submitted its full license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility in Paducah, Ky., the company said last week. The Wilmington, N.C. based company that licenses laser enrichment technology owned by Australia’s Silex Systems recently filed in its safety analysis report to complete its full license […]

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has completed the second phase of its vendor design review for the ARC-100, concluding that there are no fundamental barriers to licensing, ARC Clean Technology said. The ARC-100 is a 100-megawatt sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor and is the first advanced reactor of its kind to complete a review of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pivoted to a 19-month review schedule of TerraPower’s construction permit application for its Natrium plant in Kemmerer, Wyo. TerraPower’s Kemmerer Unit 1 project’s construction permit application review is to be completed by Dec. 31, according to the NRC July 1 letter to the company. The agency expects to have TerraPower’s […]

An independent nuclear regulator is vital in order to preserve confidence in nuclear power in the United States and internationally, three former Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairs said in a recent opinion piece. Former NRC chairs Stephen Burns, Allison Macfarlane and Richard Meserve published an opinion piece on Monday in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, […]

The Senate on Environment and Public Works Committee voted 10 to 9 along party lines Wednesday to advance the re-nomination of David Wright to be a commissioner on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. With the slim passing of Wright’s re-nomination, he will be due to go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote at a […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Timothy Walsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be assistant secretary of energy for environmental management, or EM-1, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday his military and business background has prepared him to lead the world’s largest nuclear cleanup. An Army veteran and company commander in the 82nd Airborne Division […]

Vistra Corp’s Perry Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 operating license has been renewed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission through November 2046. The 1,268-megawatt nuclear plant in Perry, Ohio is a single-unit plant. The plant first began operation in 1986 and is currently operating under its initial 40-year license. Perry was initially planned to be a […]

The Senate on Environment and Public Works Committee voted 10 to 9 along party lines Wednesday to advance the re-nomination of David Wright to be a commissioner on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. With the slim passing of Wright’s re-nomination, he will be due to go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote at a […]

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed two bills into law last week designed to further nuclear research and deployment in the state. Senate Bill 124, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 11, will create a board to advance in-state nuclear power and fusion technology and host a Wisconsin nuclear summit. Senate Bill 125, now 2025 Wisconsin Act […]

Global Laser Enrichment has submitted its full license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility in Paducah, Ky., the company said last week. The Wilmington, N.C. based company that licenses laser enrichment technology owned by Australia’s Silex Systems recently filed in its safety analysis report to complete its full license […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pivoted to a 19-month review schedule of TerraPower’s construction permit application for its Natrium plant in Kemmerer, Wyo. TerraPower’s Kemmerer Unit 1 project’s construction permit application review is to be completed by Dec. 31, according to the NRC July 1 letter to the company. The agency expects to have TerraPower’s […]

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is scheduled to vote Wednesday morning at 8:45 a.m. on the renomination of David Wright to be a commissioner on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Wright was renominated by President Donald Trump on June 16. He was previously appointed to serve on the NRC in May 2018, during […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a public online meeting on June 26 to take comments on closure plans for the Calcined Solids Storage Facility at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. “Calcine is a solid, granular waste form produced through the calcination of liquid radioactive waste resulting, in part, from spent nuclear fuel (SNF) […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panel has rejected the latest contentions filed by citizen groups against restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. The three-judge Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) panel ruled on June 20 against the petitioning organizations of Beyond Nuclear, Don’t Waste Michigan, Michigan Safe Energy Future, […]

As President Donald Trump’s administration presses the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve more advanced reactors, NRC has a bunch of proposals in the pipeline. Last week during former NRC Chair David Wright’s Senate nomination hearing, he called NRC’s advanced reactor sector of its agency a “shining star”.  Wright credited the Advance Act for directing the […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair David Wright’s term has concluded on Monday and is no longer with the commission, at least temporarily. Wright was originally sworn as a commissioner in May 2018 as he was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term. Wright was renominated on June 16 and underwent a hearing before the […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panel has rejected the latest contentions filed by citizen groups against restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. The three-judge Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) panel ruled on June 20 against the petitioning organizations of Beyond Nuclear, Don’t Waste Michigan, Michigan Safe Energy Future, […]

The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority to license consolidated interim storage, clears the way for Holtec to move forward on a spent fuel storage site in New Mexico, according to the company. At the same time, however, Holtec said last week major issues remain to be worked out both […]

Despite the recent executive order to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, safety will continue to be the independent agency’s highest priority, NRC Chair David Wright told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday. “Safety is our strike zone over home plate, it is our North Star and it will continue to be that,” […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said June 18 it has decided three policy matters designed to hasten microreactor licensing. . Microreactors are small nuclear reactors capable of producing electricity from a range of 1 to 20 megawatts. These reactors also can be fabricated in a factory and then shipped to the final location. First, NRC decided […]

Nearly 30 former Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff members and one ex-chair criticized President Donald Trump’s firing of Commissioner Christopher Hanson in a Tuesday letter. On June 13 Trump fired Hanson from his position on the Commission in a move that shook up the nuclear industry. The Tuesday letter was written to the agency’s four remaining […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recently amended its regulations for the licensing, special projects and annual fees it will charge applicants and licensees for fiscal 2025.  According to the NRC Tuesday press release, the agency will reduce the hourly rate for advanced nuclear reactor applicants and pre-applicants for specific activities required by the Advance Act. […]

The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority to license consolidated interim storage, clears the way for Holtec to move forward on a spent fuel storage site in New Mexico, according to the company. At the same time, however, Holtec said last week major issues remain to be worked out both […]