Office of Nuclear Energy

The House was scheduled to vote Friday on a $370 billion energy, climate and tax bill that included tax credits for nuclear power plants, a budget increase for DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy and more than half a billion dollars for advanced nuclear reactor fuel. A schedule maintained by the office of House Majority Leader […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week: 24-28 – Institute for Nuclear Materials Management, Virtual Annual Meeting. No in-person participation. Registration required and to be available here. 25: The Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board in South Carolina starts a two-day meeting at […]

The full House on Wednesday approved a fiscal year 2023 Department of Energy budget bill that provides more or less the requested funding for DOE’s nuclear weapons and waste programs and a small increase over the request for nuclear energy programs.  The 2023 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, part of a package of six spending […]

The utility company in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant this week suggested some flexibility on its plans to close and decommission the facility as scheduled, according to a company spokesperson. “Given the recent amendment to the Dept. of Energy’s Civil Nuclear Credit program guidance, as well as the Governor’s request that we […]

The Department of Energy is planning to continue this year a legally-mandated working group aimed at developing incentives for communities impacted by spent nuclear fuel transportation efforts, the agency told the government’s independent nuclear waste technical committee in a recent letter. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy plans to resume operation of its Nuclear Fuels Storage […]

The utility in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant on Tuesday changed its tune about the facility’s planned closure, asking the Department of Energy for extra time to apply for a federal bailout to keep it online. Diablo Canyon Power Plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) “appreciates the Department of Energy’s efforts […]

House appropriators during a budget markup Tuesday came out swinging against two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in Texas and New Mexico. “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is racing to license the construction of high level [nuclear waste] storage sites both in New Mexico and in Texas,” Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told […]

Sam Brinton is the Department of Energy’s new deputy assistant secretary for spent nuclear fuel and waste disposition, according to an internal DOE email seen by the Exchange Monitor. It is Brinton’s first government job. In the role, Brinton will take the helm of DOE’s frustrated, decades-long effort to find a home for more than […]

The House Appropriations Committee was scheduled Tuesday to vote on the first draft of the 2023 spending bill that funds nuclear weapons and waste programs at the Department of Energy and other agencies.  Defense nuclear weapons and waste programs at DOE would receive roughly the funding requested for 2023, under the bill approved last week […]

A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee is neutral on whether the Department of Energy should lead any revived federal research effort on potential health impacts of low-dose radiation, the head of the panel, said Friday. Tribal communities and atomic workers “generally do not support” a DOE-run low-dose radiation program, Joe Gray, professor […]

Kathryn Huff, the White House’s pick for assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy, cleared the full Senate this week, clinching her spot as head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy office. The Senate voted 80-11 Thursday to confirm Kathryn Huff, who the Joe Biden administration first nominated in January to lead DOE’s Office […]

Kathryn Huff, the White House’s pick for assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy, cleared the full Senate this week, clinching her spot as head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy office. The Senate voted 80-11 Thursday to confirm Kathryn Huff, who the Joe Biden administration first nominated in January to lead DOE’s Office […]

John (Jack) William Crawford, Jr., a Navy captain who served on the staff of Admiral Hyman Rickover prior to stints with the Atomic Energy Commission and later the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, has died, the board announced in a press release last week. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) was created by Congress […]

John (Jack) William Crawford, Jr., a Navy captain who served on the staff of Admiral Hyman Rickover prior to stints with the Atomic Energy Commission and later the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, has died, the board announced in a press release last week. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) was created by Congress […]

While the Joe Biden administration grapples with plans for a geologic repository for high-level waste to replace the stalled Yucca Mountain project in Nevada, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) urged the nominee to lead the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy office to prioritize a defense waste disposal site. “I believe you should separate defense from commercial […]

  The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy should soon publish a report wrapping up community input on its interim storage inquiry, the White House’s pick to lead the office told Senators during a confirmation hearing Thursday. A summary report on DOE’s recently-closed request for information (RFI) on its proposed consent-based siting process for […]

A bipartisan omnibus spending package awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature would increase the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy budget from 2021 levels but still come in shy of the agency’s request for the current fiscal year. If the compromise budget bill becomes law, DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) would receive around 1.65 billion for […]

PHOENIX — The Department of Energy planned to give some cash to communities interested in hosting a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel but the agency’s spent fuel czar declined to provide details during a panel discussion here Tuesday. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy is “in the development phases” of a funding opportunity […]