Budget & Policy

WRAP UP

Monday, March 17, 2014

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
10/11/13

IN CONGRESS

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved Elizabeth Robinson’s nomination to be Under Secretary of Energy for Management and Performance by voice vote during a meeting this week. Robinson had breezed through her confirmation hearing before the panel last month. The Under Secretary position, created as part of a DOE reorganization effort announced in July, oversees the Department’s offices of Environmental Management and Legacy Management, as well as several other support offices. Robinson currently serves as NASA’s Chief Financial Officer, and has also previously held positions at the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office, among others.

IN THE STATES

The Kansas Supreme Court unanimously rejected the air permit issued to the proposed Sunflower coal plant late last week. The ruling invalidated the pollution permit granted to Sunflower Electric Power Corp. by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in December 2010 for an 895 MW coal plant planned for Holcomb, Kan. The justices argued that the Department failed to adequately require the plant to adhere to stricter emissions standards finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency before the permit was issued. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment must now reconsider Sunflower’s permit and take into account all current air pollution regulations finalized since its initial assessment of the project. Environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Earthjustice, which both strongly opposed the project, said the ruling is enough to effectively kill the $3 billion Sunflower project. “With new standards in effect since the project was first proposed, the likelihood of the expansion plant legally meeting those standards or finding financial backing for unneeded coal-fired generation are dim,” Earthjustice said in a release. Sunflower officials vowed to continue with the project in a statement.

New Jersey lawmakers are considering rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), Bloomberg reported this week. The news organization said the New Jersey State Assembly’s Telecommunication and Utilities Committee heard arguments Oct. 10 about rejoining the regional cap-and-trade scheme. New Jersey was one of 10 Northeast states to initially join RGGI when it was established in 2005. However, Republican Gov. Chris Christie pulled the state from the program in November 2011, arguing that the scheme did not reduce emissions and gave New Jersey a competitive disadvantage compared to neighbor Pennsylvania, which is not a member of RGGI. Christie, who is running for reelection next month, has vetoed two bills in recent years that would have forced the state to rejoin RGGI. Environmental groups also sued the state of New Jersey last year aimed at compelling the state to rejoin. RGGI Inc., the company that oversees the cap-and-trade scheme, recently announced plans to tighten its emissions cap 45 percent by next year.

IN THE INDUSTRY

Mississippi Power said it has successfully synchronized the steam turbine generator at its Kemper County facility to the electric grid over the weekend. “While commissioning activities and equipment testing will continue in the combined cycle portion of the plant, this milestone signals the readiness of the steam turbine to power the generator and produce electricity,” the utility said in a release. The Southern Company subsidiary said that 6,000 construction workers remain onsite in eastern Mississippi as startup activities continue on the new-build 582 MW integrated gasification combined cycle plant. The news comes a week after the utility announced that construction on Kemper is behind schedule and that it would not be able to achieve Kemper’s planned in-service date in May 2014. Mississippi Power attributed the delay to “abnormally wet weather and lower-than-planned construction labor productivity.”

The Sierra Club said this week that 150 coal plants have been announced for retirement nationwide since 2010. The environmental group’s Beyond Coal Campaign celebrated this week’s announcement that the Brayton Point Power Station in Massachusetts would be mothballed in mid-2017. “By moving our country off of dirty, dangerous coal, we are creating new opportunities for clean energy and thousands of new American jobs to protect workers and public health,” Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said in a statement. The announcement brings the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign one step closer to its goal of shuttering one-third of the country’s coal plants by the end of the decade. The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity quickly slammed the Sierra Club for celebrating the news. “Sierra Club’s celebration of its 150th coal plant retirement is akin to partying at the funeral of the families and communities whose livelihoods have been devastated by these plant closures,” Senior Vice President of Communications Laura Sheehan said in a statement.

Eileen Claussen, the longtime president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (formerly the Pew Center on Climate Change), announced plans this week to step down after 15 years at the organization’s helm. A former Assistant Secretary of State and a high-ranking official at the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Security Council, Claussen co-founded and led C2ES since its inception. “But after 15 years as president, I feel it’s time to step aside,” Claussen said in a statement. “I’ll be pursuing new endeavors, such as teaching and consulting.” Claussen said she plans to remain involved with C2ES even after she steps down and that she plans to continue as head of the group until a successor is named during the first quarter of 2014. Last year, C2ES notably led efforts to incentivize CO2 enhanced oil recovery under the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative.

ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT

The European Investment Bank announced plans this week to begin selling CO2 allowances to fund carbon capture and renewable energy technologies under the second round of the New Entrants Reserve (NER 300) clean energy competition. The bank said it would commence gradually selling off the 100 million in set-aside emissions credits on the European Union’s Emissions Trading System in mid-November. NER’s first tranche of 200 million CO2 credits awarded €1.2 billion ($1.62 billion) to 23 renewable energy projects and no money to large-scale CCS projects. Only one CCS demonstration project was submitted to compete under NER’s second round. It will be competing against 32 ‘innovative renewables’ projects. The European Investment Bank said awards will likely be made to projects in mid-2014. Credits are currently trading at roughly €4.80 ($6.50) each.

Budget & Policy

Key House, Senate races in DOE nuclear cleanup complex

Wayne Barber

Friday, October 16, 2026

With less than three weeks to go before the Nov. 3 general election, here is a look at some of the key House of Representatives and Senate races around Department of Energy nuclear cleanup sites.

The sites and races are listed alphabetically.

Energy Technology Engineering Center in California: Rep. Brad Sherman (D) is running for re-election against Republican Larry Thompson.

Hanford Site in Washington: Republican Amanda McKinney and Democrat John Duresky will square off to fill the seat being vacated since longtime incumbent Dan Newhouse (R) in Washington’s fourth congressional district elected not to seek a new term. McKinney is a member of the Yakima County Commission while Duresky is a retired Air Force major. Newhouse, a longtime incumbent, is one of the few remaining Republicans in Congress who voted to impeach President Donald Trump after Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Idaho National Laboratory: Incumbent Rep. Mike Simpson (R) cruised to an easy win in the GOP primary in May and will face Democrat Ellie Gilbreath in the general election. Gilbreath is an attorney and mediator. Simpson, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, has served in the House since January 1999. In the Senate, incumbent Jim Risch (R), a member of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, is running for re-election against Independent Natalie Fleming and Libertarian Matt Loesby. Democrat David Roth dropped out of the race.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California: Rep. Lateefah Simon (D) is seeking re-election against fellow Democrat Jamie Joyce under California’s top-two primary system. California as a state sometimes practices intra-party general elections.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California: Rep. Aisha Wahab (D) won a special election in August to serve out the remainder of the term of Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned after several sexual assault allegations. A former member of the California State Senate, Wahab is an information technology manager. In the general election, Wahab will face another Democrat, Melissa Hernandez, who won the party’s primary and is a member of the board of directors for Bay Area Rapid Transit.

Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico: Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D) is seeking her fourth term against Martin Zamora (R), a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. Leger Fernández is on the House Rules Committee and Natural Resources Committee. In the Senate: Incumbent Ben Ray Luján (D) is seeking re-election against Republican Larry Marker, who won the GOP primary.

Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project in Utah: Rep. Mike Kennedy (R) is running for re-election against Democrat Johnny Larsen.

Nevada National Security Site: Incumbent Democrat Rep. Steven Horsford will seek re-election against Republican Copy Whipple, who won the GOP primary. Whipple describes himself as a rancher and businessman.

Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee: Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R) , currently chair of the House Appropriations Energy & Water subcommittee, is another longtime GOP congressman defending his seat. He will face Anna Golladay (D) in the general election. Golladay, who won her party’s primary, has a background as a consultant, business operator and associate pastor in the United Methodist Church. In the Senate: Bill Hagerty (R) is running for re-election against Democrat Marquita Bradshaw.

Paducah Site in Kentucky: Incumbent Rep. James Comer (R) is running for re-election against Democrat Drew Williams, who has a bachelor’s degree from Murray State University and has worked in the construction industry. Comer is chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In the Senate: With the retirement of long-serving Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell, the seat is being sought by Republican Congressman Andy Barr and Democrat Charles Booker, a former member of the Kentucky legislature.

Portsmouth Site in Ohio: Rep. David Taylor (R ) is seeking re-election against Democrat Jen Mazzuckelli, a high-school English teacher. In the Senate race: Republican incumbent John Husted, a former lieutenant government appointed to fill the unexpired Senate term of Vice President J.D. Vance, will defend the seat against Democrat Sherrod Brown. Brown served three terms in the U.S. Senate before losing his seat in 2024.

Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico: Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) is seeking re-election against Republican Ndidiamaka (Didi) Okpareke, a pharmacist who won the GOP primary.

Savannah River Site in South Carolina: Longtime Republican incumbent Joe Wilson is seeking re-election against Democrat Zyon Khalifa, an attorney who won his party’s primary. In the Senate: Republican Sen. Darline Graham, appointed to the seat following the death of her brother Lindsey Graham this summer, and who also won the GOP Senate primary, will seek a full term against Democrat Annie Andrews.

West Valley Demonstration Project in New York: Incumbent Republican Nick Langworthy is running for re-election against Aaron Gies for the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party.

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico: Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat, is seeking re-election against Republican Greg Cunningham.

Budget & Policy

Hanford Advisory Board lineup remains in limbo

ExchangeMonitor

Sunday, October 11, 2026

A full week into fiscal 2027, the Department of Energy had still not appointed members for the newly-configured Hanford Advisory Board.

A DOE spokesperson said late Thursday Oct. 8 that the new members of the citizen advisory board for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., have yet to be finalized. DOE had previously targeted Oct. 1, which is the start of the new fiscal year, for announcing members of the new HAB.

Earlier Thursday, a spokesperson for the Washington state Department of Ecology said the state was still in the dark about appointment of any replacement HAB members.

The DOE Office of Environmental Management announced in August that it would shrink the size of the HAB and bring its operations more in line with other DOE site-specific environmental advisory boards.

HAB would go from 38-to-20 members, all of them at-large members appointed by DOE. In addition, DOE said it would terminate a longstanding memorandum of understanding on the advisory board with the state of Washington and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Budget & Policy

New Mexico Congressional Dems tout $10M for WIPP road

ExchangeMonitor

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation serving the area around the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) have lined up $10 million for upkeep of the haul road leading to the nation’s only disposal site for defense-related transuranic waste.

The federal money will help shore up the U.S. 285 Relief Route, a key roadway used by trucks moving waste from DOE sites to WIPP near Carlsbad, N.M., according to a Friday Sept. 29 press release.

The announcement was made by Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.)

“WIPP serves a critical role for nuclear waste storage in our state and for our nation,” said Vasquez in the release. “This funding is much needed to ensure the safety and improvement of transportation of volatile materials to the facility.”

Route 285 is a north-south highway running from Sanderson, Texas to Denver, Colo. Use of the road for WIPP shipments was briefly suspended two years ago due to flooding near Roswell, N.M.

“For more than 25 years, trucks bound for WIPP have been rolling down New Mexico highways,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said in an Oct. 3 Facebook post. “As of this week, the Department of Energy is helping with the upkeep: A $10 million grant to rehabilitate the U.S. 285 Relief Route.”

“Well-maintained roads are a safety measure for every driver using US 285,” Lujan Grisham said. “Thank you to DOE and our congressional delegation for getting this done, It’s a solid down payment and New Mexico will keep asking for the rest.”

The grant is not the only effort perking in Congress to try and increase funding for road infrastructure around WIPP in Southeast New Mexico. The WIPP Economic Assistance Assurance Act of 2026 (S. 4252) would provide inflation-adjusted infrastructure funds beyond what was offered in the original WIPP Land Withdrawal Act of 1992.

Budget & Policy

Congress seeks to bolster U.S. fusion industry in new bill

ExchangeMonitor

Thursday, October 1, 2026

Two California lawmakers introduced a bill Sept. 24 that, if enacted, would provide $10 billion in funding to the fusion industry to help spur commercialization of the advanced nuclear technology.

Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), members of the House Space Science and Technology Committee, based the bipartisan bill, American Leadership in Fusion Act, on recommendations from a fusion industry report from fall 2025 titled “Fusion Forward”. Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) and James Gallagher (R-Calif.) sponsored the bill.

The report offered three primary policy recommendations Congress should consider to help “win the [international] fusion”: declare fusion a national security priority, directly invest $10 billion into the industry and take strategic actions in the fusion race.

“Fusion energy has the potential to be a reliable domestic source of power and strengthen America’s energy independence,” said Obernolte in the press release last week. “The American Leadership in Fusion Act supports the research infrastructure and commercialization pathways needed to move fusion technologies toward deployment and maintain U.S. leadership in this critical field.”

According to the bill’s fact sheet, $3.8 billion of the funding would go towards new test facilities for fuel material and fuel cycle purposes, $3 billion would be allocated to a future milestone-based demonstration program and $2 billion towards current milestone development programs. The remaining funds of the $10 billion would address other technical and technological gaps for the fusion industry.

Beyond the $10 billion investment proposed in the bill, the legislation intends to have more than one fusion pilot plant to be under construction no later than Dec. 31, 2028. The bill also calls for the Department of Energy to establish an Office of Fusion and create a fusion workforce development program with the National Science Foundation, according to the fact sheet.

Both the House and Senate introduced a bill last year that would establish a standalone office for fusion in DOE. However, House appropriators in May said that the office was not needed due to many of its operations already being carried out by the Office of Technology Commercialization.

Reactor Licensing & Regulation

NRC needs to address workforce concerns amid the growing interest in nuclear power, GAO says

Trey Rorie

Thursday, October 1, 2026

The growing interest in building more nuclear power across the United States calls for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build up its workforce to meet the incoming workload, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report this week.

Over the past couple of years, nuclear power has gained bipartisan support on Capitol Hill and across the nation as the energy source is seen to provide baseload and low-carbon power. In this growing interest, many nuclear companies and utilities are looking to build more reactors for various purposes, such as data centers and advanced manufacturing.

GAO said in its report, published Monday, it recommends that NRC finalize its workforce planning by the first quarter of fiscal 2027 and for the NRC chair to establish a system to measure the metrics on whether the agency has enough staffing to meet its needs. While NRC did not provide a formal comment letter, the agency concurred with the recommendations.

In the GAO report, NRC has seen a significant reduction in its staffing from July 2024, when the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (Advance) Act of 2024 was passed, to July 2026. GAO said that NRC’s workforce was reduced from 2,957 to 2477 or 16% in that timeframe.

GAO reported 740 employees left the agency from July 2024 to July 2026 while only hiring 270 on the flipside. Most of the departures came through the way of voluntary retirements.

NRC began to develop a new workforce tool, NRC Enterprise eXecution and Utilization System (NEXUS), to better gauge the agency’s workforce needs in 2025. According to the report, NEXUS is a device “that NRC expects will allow the agency to more effectively assess its workforce, optimize project delivery, and strategically target the use of its ADVANCE Act authorities going forward.”

However, the NEXUS tool has been delayed several times and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of fiscal 2027, NRC officials said in the document. GAO urged that NRC stay on track with the deadline that it may begin to use its additional hiring authorities granted through the Advance Act.

Through the Advance Act, NRC was provided three authorities to address its staffing needs: the ability to directly hire certain positions, compensation flexibility and provide bonuses for hiring and performance. These authorities granted by the law are set to end by 2034.

GAO said that from July 2024 to July 2026, NRC has only used the capability to provide bonuses in 18 instances for current staffers, but did not use the only capabilities.

The total compensation awarded through bonuses was around $335,000, ranging from $15,000 and $25,000 per employee. According to the report, NRC said it did not use other authorities from the Advance Act due to the agency’s recent reorganization but will intend to use it going forward. The agency said it used preexisting direct hiring authorities to fill some of the vacancies over the past few years.

“According to NRC officials, NRC needs a more stable environment and a clear understanding of the new agency structure and workforce condition and distribution to understand where mission-critical needs may exist before conducting any external hiring,” the document said. “NRC has leveraged its preexisting direct hire authority to fill some vacancies over the years. Officials told us that NRC prefers to use the preexisting direct hire authority because it is readily available across the agency for broad positions.”

In bringing in more staffers, GAO also urges NRC to establish metrics to continue to navigate whether its staffing needs are being met.

“In addition, it is not clear that the existing authorities will sufficiently address the significant workforce challenges and needs NRC may face in the future, according to officials and some stakeholders,” GAO said. “As of July 2026, NRC had not established metrics to evaluate whether its workforce authorities adequately address its needs. Establishing such metrics could help NRC determine if it has sufficient workforce flexibilities, authorities, and tools to meet its current and future needs before the ADVANCE Act hiring and compensation authorities sunset in 2034.”

GAO conducted the audit for this report from September 2025 to September 2026.

Reactor Licensing & Regulation

Democrats demand an explanation for big changes at NRC

ExchangeMonitor

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Senate and House Democratic appropriators seek more clarity from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Chair Ho Nieh on the recent overarching changes at the agency initiated by President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14300.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), respective ranking members of the Senate and House Energy and Water Development Appropriations subcommittees, said in a Sept. 18 letter that NRC’s changes, particularly its proposed rulemaking on radiation standard protections, have warranted many questions from Congress. This letter comes after the two Democratic lawmakers also asked the Department of Energy for answers about recent changes at its nuclear sites.

Kaptur and Murray requested that Nieh and NRC respond and provide information on several areas of concerns, particularly the 17 listed in the letter, within 15 days of receiving the letter.

NRC has undergone an extensive wholesale revision of its regulations, processes and organizational structure as ordered by the May 2025 executive order. According to the letter, NRC has released “47 regulations, 27 rulemakings, and 71 guidance documents” and also updated its Reactor Oversight Process and security program in an effort to reform the independent agency.

“We support efforts to ensure that the NRC’s regulatory framework is efficient, risk-informed, and capable of supporting the safe and secure deployment of nuclear energy,” the letter said. “However, the breadth of the changes currently underway raises significant questions about whether the NRC has adequately evaluated the cumulative effects of these reforms on nuclear safety, security, independent oversight, and public confidence.”

Of the many changes at NRC, Kaptur and Murray keyed in on NRC’s proposed rulemaking to remove the “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA) principle from its regulations. NRC plans to implement a graded approach to dose management based on defined thresholds. The rulemaking was published in the Federal Register on July 15 and racked up over 2,000 public comments.

Nieh and NRC have defended the rulemaking several times, saying that it will bring clarity to radiation protection standards without compromising safety. Outside Kaptur and Murray’s concerns with the rulemaking, it has garnered much opposition from Democratic state attorneys general and environmental groups.

Reactor Licensing & Regulation

Democrats demand an explanation for major changes at NRC

ExchangeMonitor

Monday, September 21, 2026

Kaptur and Murray requested that Nieh and NRC respond and provide information on several areas of concerns, particularly the 17 listed in the letter, within 15 days of receiving the letter.

Reactor Licensing & Regulation

NRC considers more decommissioning, oversight and reactor licensing changes in new rulemaking

ExchangeMonitor

Monday, September 14, 2026

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released more overarching regulations in its latest rulemaking that will affect decommissioning, reactor licensing and oversight.

Proposed on Sept. 11, the newest rulemaking in the NRC’s regulations as a part of Executive Order 14300 implementation. The 339-page proposal will have changes that are “intended to make NRC regulations more efficient, predictable and adaptable to evolving nuclear technologies while maintaining the agency’s safety mission,” according to NRC’s press release.

Among the several proposed adjustments and alterations, NRC looks to expand partial site release requests at decommissioning sites prior to the approval of a licensee’s license termination plan and clarify other requirements for nuclear power plant decommissioning, including financial qualifications and how the decommissioning trust fund will be used.

Other proposed regulatory changes proposed are the removal of standard design approvals, which are currently slated to last for 15-years. Under the proposed change, the standard design approval would stay valid indefinitely unless “it is withdrawn by the applicant, superseded by a subsequent design approval or certification, or materially changed in a way that affects safety or regulatory compliance,” according to the proposed rule.

Other changes NRC listed in the rulemaking are:

Adding a “risk-informed, graded approach” to earthquake seismic design requirements.
Adding flexibility for licensing reactor control room staff.
Updating the procedure in how NRC will bring forth new or revised requirements for existing nuclear facilities.
Updating requirements for reporting nonemergency events and defects and noncompliance for safety defects at nuclear facilities.

“This major modernization of the NRC’s reactor regulations replaces outdated requirements with smarter, risk-informed approaches that reflect today’s technologies, knowledge and operating experience,” NRC Chairman Ho Nieh said in the release. “The result is a regulatory framework that maintains strong safety margins while eliminating unnecessary constraints and providing the flexibility needed for America’s long-term energy security.”

Advanced Nuclear & SMRs

Round Up: Bluecore raises $50 million for maritime technology; NRC to review Dominion’s ESP renewal; NRC’s plans workshop on AI maturity

ExchangeMonitor

Friday, September 11, 2026

Long Beach, Calif.-based maritime nuclear startup Bluecore Energy raised $50 million in seed funding this week.

The seed round is the first official stage of fundraising from outside investors for a startup company. Bluecore, founded in 2025, said in its Tuesday press release that the recent funding comes at a time where the company is advancing its maritime nuclear technology and regulatory engagement.

Bluecore has set up its headquarters and operations near Port of Long Beach, which is one of the selected ports to explore maritime small modular reactor technology, and is engaging with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and U.S. Coast Guard, according to the release. The company is developing a 10-megawatt water-cooled nuclear energy system that would refuel “only once every few years.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission docketed Dominion Energy’s North Anna Nuclear Generating Station early site permit renewal application and will now review it, according to a Friday Federal Register notice.

Dominion, which acquired an early site permit at North Anna in 2007, seeks to renew the permit as it is set to expire in November 2027. The utility holding company submitted its application on July 14. NRC said requests for a hearing or to petition needs to be filed on or prior to Nov. 10.

North Anna, based in Mineral, Va., is home to two pressurized water reactors that generate 1,900 megawatts. Dominion considered an additional boiling water unit at the North Anna complex, but shelved those plans due to high projected construction costs and cheaper energy alternatives at the time.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will host its seventh annual Artificial Intelligence (AI) Workshop on Sept. 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time at NRC’s headquarters in Rockville, Md.

This year’s workshop will be titled: “Navigating the AI Landscape: Regulator Transformation, Industry Innovation, and Global Collaboration.” According to the event’s agenda, it will heavily focus on NRC’s AI maturity in its regulatory readiness and demonstrations of internal use of AI in cases.

The event will also have discussions with industry on the consideration of using AI in licensing. Registered participants can view the hybrid event via Microsoft Teams.

Advanced Nuclear & SMRs

MARVEL microreactor inches closer to zero-power criticality after DOE safety approval

ExchangeMonitor

Friday, October 9, 2026

(MARVEL) microreactor project progresses towards criticality after recently hitting some milestones, DOE said Tuesday.

The MARVEL microreactor project, led by DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), had its final documented safety analysis approved by DOE’s Idaho Operations Office, INL said in its press release. The lab said this approval is a prominent regulatory milestone needed to authorize the reactor’s configuration for dry criticality.

Dry criticality is when a reactor, with no coolant loaded, reaches a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction and generates near-zero power, INL said. The lab said it expects to reach criticality by December.

DOE previously approved MARVEL’s reactor preliminary documented safety analysis in February.

Following the regulatory approval, INL reported that it received MARVEL’s primary coolant system at Idaho’s Transient Reactor Test Facility in mid-September. The primary coolant system will be responsible for carrying heat away from the reactor core using a sodium-potassium alloy as a coolant during the full-power operations, INL said.

The primary coolant system (PCS) is a prominent component of a reactor and has a significant role in a reactor’s critical safety and operational system.

“We’re ecstatic to not only have our PCS fabricated, but also to get this important approval from DOE, which allows us to move toward MARVEL’s initial criticality,” Abdalla Abou-Jaoude, the MARVEL microreactor lead, said in the release. “Based on DOE guidance, we are also very open to sharing this approved document with key stakeholders in the hopes that it can serve as a template for industry.”

MARVEL is a sodium-potassium-cooled reactor that is designed to generate 85 kilowatts of thermal energy and 10 kilowatts of electricity.

The MARVEL microreactor project operates outside of DOE’s reactor pilot program, which sought to have at least three test reactors reach criticality by Independence Day earlier this year. DOE has been working on the MARVEL project since the early 2020s.

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