Energy

EPA oversees $10.2 billion of IRA grant funds amid staff cuts

1 min read23 hours ago

The agency's $10.2 billion obligated under the Inflation Reduction Act is subject to expanded oversight for state grant recipients beginning FY 2023.

Energy

DOE Announces First Advanced Reactor Criticality in U.S.

1 min readyesterday

Antares Nuclear's Mark-0 microreactor achieved zero-power criticality at Idaho National Laboratory, paving the way for commercial operation from 2027.

Energy

Oklo's Groves Reactor Achieves Criticality as Fifth DOE-Authorized Advanced Reactor

1 min readyesterday

The DOE-authorized Groves Isotope Test Reactor in Lockhart, Texas, reached criticality, joining four other advanced reactors under the Reactor Pilot Program this summer.

Energy

Oklo's Groves Reactor Achieves Criticality as Fifth DOE-Authorized Advanced Reactor

1 min readyesterday

The DOE-authorized Groves Isotope Test Reactor in Lockhart, Texas, reached criticality, joining four other advanced reactors under the Reactor Pilot Program this summer.

Energy

Energy Dept. Marks Trump-Era Production Gains in Midland Visit

1 min readyesterday

Secretary Wright will travel to Midland on Aug. 17, 2026 to highlight record oil, gas output and LNG export growth credited to President Trump's agenda.

Energy

DOE emergency order keeps 1,420-MW Michigan coal plant online through Nov. 14

2 min readyesterday

Midwest Independent System Operator and Consumers Energy must keep the J.H. Campbell plant operating from Aug. 17 to Nov. 14, 2026

Defense

President Approves US-Saudi Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

1 min read3 days ago

The United States and Saudi Arabia are bound by a new nuclear cooperation pact approved on July 16 2026.

Elsewhere

What other outlets are reporting on this beat. We link out; we do not republish.

New lab at ORNL speeds up U-233 cleanup, Ac-225 delivery
The ribbon is cut for the new analytical lab in ORNL’s Building 2026 by, from left, AtkinsRéalis’s Jeff Kendall, TerraPower Isotopes’ Scott Claunch, Isotek Systems’ Sarah Schaefer, OREM’s Erik Olds, TerraPower Isotopes’ Ben Goodrich, and OREM’s Teresa Robbins. (Photo: DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)A new analytical laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been officially opened by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractor Isotek Systems. The state-of-the-art lab, located in Building 2026, is being used to speed up the high-priority cleanup of ORNL’s uranium-233 inventory and accelerate the delivery of actinium-225 to facilities that use the radioisotope in research and for potential treatment of patients with cancer.The Building 2026 lab, which is being equipped by Teledyne Brown Engineering, “provides in-house capabilities to analyze samples of processed material, leading to accelerated shipments,” according to the DOE. OREM manager Erik Olds explained that it “helps avoid delays by providing employees more data and faster results as they make decisions and process material for disposal. This new, unique capability also provides us opportunities to support other priority projects in the future.”Legacy waste, modern medicine: The U-233 stored at ORNL was created in the 1950s and 1960s for potential use in nuclear reactors, but it was deemed unviable as a nuclear fuel. About half of ORNL’s U-233 inventory could be disposed of directly, but the rest first must be converted into a form safe for transportation and disposal.The DOE selected the AtkinsRéalis subsidiary Isotek Systems to eliminate the U-233 that is stored at ORNL, and the company has already disposed of about three-fourths of the inventory. The processing and disposal of the remaining stockpile had been expected to take several more years, but the newly installed lab will help to accelerate that timeline, reducing costs and risks whi
Nuclear Newswire 1 hour ago
New lab at ORNL speeds up U-233 cleanup, Ac-225 delivery
The ribbon is cut for the new analytical lab in ORNL’s Building 2026 by, from left, AtkinsRéalis’s Jeff Kendall, TerraPower Isotopes’ Scott Claunch, Isotek Systems’ Sarah Schaefer, OREM’s Erik Olds, TerraPower Isotopes’ Ben Goodrich, and OREM’s Teresa Robbins. (Photo: DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)A new analytical laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been officially opened by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractor Isotek Systems. The state-of-the-art lab, located in Building 2026, is being used to speed up the high-priority cleanup of ORNL’s uranium-233 inventory and accelerate the delivery of actinium-225 to facilities that use the radioisotope in research and for potential treatment of patients with cancer.The Building 2026 lab, which is being equipped by Teledyne Brown Engineering, “provides in-house capabilities to analyze samples of processed material, leading to accelerated shipments,” according to the DOE. OREM manager Erik Olds explained that it “helps avoid delays by providing employees more data and faster results as they make decisions and process material for disposal. This new, unique capability also provides us opportunities to support other priority projects in the future.”Legacy waste, modern medicine: The U-233 stored at ORNL was created in the 1950s and 1960s for potential use in nuclear reactors, but it was deemed unviable as a nuclear fuel. About half of ORNL’s U-233 inventory could be disposed of directly, but the rest first must be converted into a form safe for transportation and disposal.The DOE selected the AtkinsRéalis subsidiary Isotek Systems to eliminate the U-233 that is stored at ORNL, and the company has already disposed of about three-fourths of the inventory. The processing and disposal of the remaining stockpile had been expected to take several more years, but the newly installed lab will help to accelerate that timeline, reducing costs and risks whi
Nuclear Newswire 1 hour ago
PJM 5-Year Strategy Wrestles With Data Center Boom
PJM Interconnection envisions a power system in which data centers drive most new electricity demand, but its five-year strategy begs a critical question: how much responsibility should the regional grid operator assume for turning uncertain load forecasts into generation, transmission and reliability commitments?PJM’s Board of Managers approved the strategy in July, and PJM released it Aug. 19. The plan calls for a more dynamic approach to grid operations, faster planning and interconnection, stronger alignment with states and more efficient decision-making.But the document does not resolve the governance and capacity-market changes now under scrutiny at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Those decisions will come through separate proceedings and filings.The strategy arrives as FERC presses PJM to rethink how it accommodates rapidly growing Large Loads.On June 18, FERC opened a Section 206 proceeding against PJM, directing the grid operator and transmission owners to justify existing tariffs governing large-load service or propose reforms. PJM was given 60 days to respond.Related:Can Large-Load Flexibility Ease Data Center Energy Concerns?Elizabeth K. Whitney, managing principal at Meguire Whitney, said the strategy largely reflects work that began before FERC intensified its scrutiny this year.“This is really a routine, long-range document that merely reflects those more recent developments, rather than a fresh response to the most pointed pressures facing the organization,” Whitney said.“I don’t take this document to be particularly telling of where PJM is actually headed with respect to its governance changes and capacity market reforms,” she said. “We’ll have to wait for those detailed filings to get a picture of how things will unfold.”Four Priorities SetPJM organizes the strategy around four priorities: operating a dynamic grid; ensuring durable market incentives and state alignment; adapting planning processes; and improving decision-making eff
Data Center Knowledge 2 hours ago
PJM 5-Year Strategy Wrestles With Data Center Boom
PJM Interconnection envisions a power system in which data centers drive most new electricity demand, but its five-year strategy begs a critical question: how much responsibility should the regional grid operator assume for turning uncertain load forecasts into generation, transmission and reliability commitments?PJM’s Board of Managers approved the strategy in July, and PJM released it Aug. 19. The plan calls for a more dynamic approach to grid operations, faster planning and interconnection, stronger alignment with states and more efficient decision-making.But the document does not resolve the governance and capacity-market changes now under scrutiny at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Those decisions will come through separate proceedings and filings.The strategy arrives as FERC presses PJM to rethink how it accommodates rapidly growing Large Loads.On June 18, FERC opened a Section 206 proceeding against PJM, directing the grid operator and transmission owners to justify existing tariffs governing large-load service or propose reforms. PJM was given 60 days to respond.Related:Can Large-Load Flexibility Ease Data Center Energy Concerns?Elizabeth K. Whitney, managing principal at Meguire Whitney, said the strategy largely reflects work that began before FERC intensified its scrutiny this year.“This is really a routine, long-range document that merely reflects those more recent developments, rather than a fresh response to the most pointed pressures facing the organization,” Whitney said.“I don’t take this document to be particularly telling of where PJM is actually headed with respect to its governance changes and capacity market reforms,” she said. “We’ll have to wait for those detailed filings to get a picture of how things will unfold.”Four Priorities SetPJM organizes the strategy around four priorities: operating a dynamic grid; ensuring durable market incentives and state alignment; adapting planning processes; and improving decision-making eff
Data Center Knowledge 2 hours ago
NRC opens, defines hearing opportunity for Orano’s Project Ike
If a contested hearing is held, the licensing board “should manage the schedule such that the overall hearing process is completed within 315 days” of the FR notice. That timeline fits the NRC’s plans to complete its review of Orano Enrichment’s license application in 12 months; in the past, similar reviews typically have run 18–20 months.In the event there is a contested hearing on the application, the NRC does not intend to also conduct an uncontested hearing. In comments appended to the notice, NRC Commissioner Matthew J. Marzano expressed some doubts regarding the agency’s intended handling of a hearing on the application, saying, “The order rests on an overly permissive reading of Section 193 that I do not share.”Section 193 refers to the Atomic Energy Act section that addresses the licensing of uranium enrichment facilities. It states that the NRC “shall conduct a single adjudicatory hearing on the record with regard to the licensing of the construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility under sections 53 and 63.”Commission guidance on the selection of hearing procedures provided in the FR notice suggests that a contested hearing—should one be conducted—would fulfill the requirement for an uncontested hearing. Once a licensing board rules on contentions, either on threshold admissibility or on merits, the hearing record would be held open until after an environmental impact statement is prepared.Marzano said he supports the NRC’s efforts at “timely, efficient adjudication” but believes the proposed order does not meet the current requirements of the Atomic Energy Act.He expressed concern that if no uncontested hearing on the application was held in addition to a contested hearing, as suggested by the NRC in the FR notice, this action “sets the stage for the Commission to credit any form of an adjudicatory record as sufficient for the statute's hearing requirement.”Calling such an action a hollowing out of the statute’s requirements, Marzano clarifi
Nuclear Newswire 23 hours ago
FERC approves SPP ‘topology optimization’ plan for cutting grid congestion
Utility Dive 23 hours ago
U.S. GAO - Nuclear Fuel: Actions Needed to Enhance Cost Reporting and Economic Analysis for Federal Uranium Supply Efforts
Fast Facts The National Nuclear Security Administration provides enriched uranium for U.S. national security needs. NNSA is pursuing 3 long-term efforts to enrich uranium, which will cost an estimated $140 billion through 2105. However, it hasn't reported to Congress on these costs as required. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy is working to expand uranium enrichment in the U.S. for civilian purposes, mainly for nuclear fuel. But it needs to complete an economic analysis—including a review of costs and benefits—to ensure that its efforts are successful. Our recommendations address these issues. U is the Chemical Symbol for Uranium; 235 and 238 are its Most Important Isotopes Two wooden blocks. One with the chemical symbol U for uranium; the other with 235 and 238. Skip to Highlights Highlights What GAO Found The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is preserving a sufficient inventory of low-enriched uranium (LEU) and highly enriched uranium (HEU) to meet national security needs until the 2040s. Separately, the largest needs for civilian enriched uranium are fuel for light water and advanced reactors. Estimates from the Department of Energy (DOE) and others about LEU supply and demand are generally well established, but factors such as the ban on LEU imports from Russia could affect availability. Demand estimates for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) vary, and estimated supply may not meet near-term demands. National Security and Civilian Use of Enriched Uranium NNSA has a plan to meet national security needs for enriched uranium that includes using current inventory until the 2040s while pursuing three enrichment efforts for long-term needs. NNSA estimates total program costs for these efforts of about $140 billion through 2105. NNSA has not yet conveyed those costs in a biennial report required by Congress because the estimates are new. Providing this information would inform Congress of future costs for any future production options being consi
GAO reports yesterday
US aircraft carrier arrives in Middle East, relieving long-deployed USS Lincoln
Democrats have pressed the Department of Defense for accountability over conditions aboard the Lincoln, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said were “completely misrepresented.”WASHINGTON (AP) — The Asia-based USS George Washington aircraft carrier is now operating in the Middle East, the U.S. military said Thursday, relieving a long-deployed carrier following reports of mental health challenges and supply shortages aboard while it was supporting the Iran war.U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said on social media that the carrier arrived in the region Wednesday. It was not clear when the USS Abraham Lincoln would arrive back in the U.S. or whether it would make a port stop along the way, but the journey takes just over a month.The Washington arrived as concerns have grown about the Lincoln’s lengthy deployment, which has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 250 days, and about reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products.Several Democratic lawmakers have pressed the Department of Defense for accountability over conditions aboard the Lincoln, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said were “completely misrepresented.”Hegseth spoke with the Lincoln’s crew last week, and Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, visited this past weekend. In an editorial published Sunday by The Wall Street Journal, Cooper said the crew “delivered a performance for the ages, and now you are going home.”Extended deployments of carriers wear on service members who are away from home for long periods and increase strain on the ship and its equipment. While renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran calmed in recent weeks, the Navy is enforcing a reimposed blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration has offered no clarity on how it intends to wind down the war.Hegseth has said the U.S. can maintain the
Courthouse News yesterday

Newsletter

What the federal government did today, and what it changes - with the document behind every item.

Federal Reserve opens comment period on Journey Financial Group BHC application

Treasury renews OMB control number for Money Services Business registration

IRS proposes new criteria for Trump account investments

IRS modifies DIFSLA matching agreement with Louisiana Department of Health

Energy

EPA oversees $10.2 billion of IRA grant funds amid staff cuts

DOE Announces First Advanced Reactor Criticality in U.S.

Oklo's Groves Reactor Achieves Criticality as Fifth DOE-Authorized Advanced Reactor

Oklo's Groves Reactor Achieves Criticality as Fifth DOE-Authorized Advanced Reactor

Energy Dept. Marks Trump-Era Production Gains in Midland Visit

DOE emergency order keeps 1,420-MW Michigan coal plant online through Nov. 14

President Approves US-Saudi Nuclear Cooperation Agreement