DOE

California-headquartered Antares, an advanced nuclear energy company, said it has received U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) approval of the Documented Safety Analysis for the company’s Mark-0 reactor.

A new think tank assessment argues that economics, proliferation concerns, and waste management barriers have shifted enough to make commercial nuclear fuel recycling viable in the U.S.—but only if Washington acts before the window closes. A think tank has warned the Trump administration that it has a narrow window to make the U.S. the first […]

Across the U.S., more than 60 advanced reactor developers are innovating with billions of dollars in public and private capital to meet rapidly growing electricity demand. But innovation alone does not deliver power. If nuclear power is to be an essential source for exploding power demands across the nation, we must make a strategic choice: […]

Since May 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued more than 40 emergency orders and extensions under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act—more than in any comparable period in the past two decades. The orders have fallen into two broad categories: retirement deferrals, which compel utilities and grid operators to keep specific generating […]

Dr. Dario Gil, the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Under Secretary for Science, lays out a bold vision to double the productivity of U.S. research and development (R&D) within a decade—and explains why energy and artificial intelligence (AI) are two sides of the same coin. After 22 years at IBM, where he rose to senior vice […]

Electric utilities and energy consumers have discovered the benefits of electrification as a way to decarbonize operations and take advantage of more intelligent power systems. The push for decarbonization

The global surge in energy demand is spurring investment in several sectors, and is bringing renewed interest in areas such as geothermal. The world’s literal hot spots—places such as Iceland, Indonesia, Kenya, and part of the U.S.—are seeing new projects, often as part of testing of advanced technologies such as enhanced geothermal systems (EGS).

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources convened March 19 for a full committee hearing to examine the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) implementation of President Trump’s May 2025 nuclear energy executive orders. Three witnesses—DOE Assistant Secretary Theodore Garrish, Kairos Power CEO Dr. Michael Laufer, and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Director Dr. John C. Wagner—testified, […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a new initiative to increase U.S. nuclear generating capacity—targeting 2.5 GW of additional nuclear capacity by 2027 and 5 GW by 2029—by expanding output from operating reactors, restarting dormant facilities, and extending the lifespans of plants already on the grid. The Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort—UPRISE—unveiled […]

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has teamed up with artificial intelligence (AI) computing giant NVIDIA to advance “PROMETHEUS,” INL’s first-of-its-kind demonstration of an autonomous nuclear reactor driven by AI, to execute a key challenge under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Genesis Mission. The move adds momentum to DOE’s push to apply AI across the full reactor […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has released specifications for 26 artificial intelligence (AI) challenges under its Genesis Mission that could reshape how power plants are designed, licensed, built, and operated. Several directly target nuclear plant deployment timelines, grid interconnection bottlenecks, data center load integration, fusion commercialization, and subsurface energy recovery. Launched via executive order on […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) maintains one of the richest and most diverse histories in the federal government. Although the department itself has only existed since 1977, its lineage traces back to the Manhattan Project—the massive scientific effort that developed the atomic bomb during World War II—and to various energy-related programs that were previously […]

Deep Isolation Nuclear, an innovator in nuclear waste disposal technology, on January 13 said the company has successfully completed its Project SAVANT (Sequential Advancement of Technology for Deep Borehole Disposal), a two-year research initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E).

Recent breakthroughs at U.S. fusion labs, along with new public-private partnerships, are bringing us closer than ever to realizing fusion energy’s limitless potential. However, the U.S. has a major gap to fill in fusion research and development (R&D), and workforce development.

A North Carolina-headquartered developer of small modular nuclear power plants announced it has an agreement with the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) for an initiative to build and operate a molten salt reactor.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued its first production-scale task orders under a $2.7-billion uranium enrichment program launched in 2024, awarding $900 million each to Centrus Energy Corp., General Matter, and Orano Federal Services to expand domestic capacity for conventional low-enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) over the next decade. The […]

A rapid succession of Section 202(c) emergency orders has forced utilities to keep more than 2 GW of coal capacity online in December alone, marking an unprecedented federal intervention in grid operations and triggering legal challenges from states and environmental groups. Across all orders issued since May 2025, the DOE has now stalled the retirement […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued another emergency order to keep a coal-fired power plant operating, this time saying a Colorado facility must remain online at least another three months.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched the “Genesis Mission,” a national effort to build an integrated artificial intelligence (AI) platform across its 17 national laboratories. According to The White House, the initiative will “accelerate scientific discovery, strengthen national security, secure energy dominance, enhance workforce productivity, and multiply the return on taxpayer investment into […]

Three advanced nuclear developers—Radiant, Last Energy, and ARC Clean Technology—announced the closing of major private funding rounds in mid-December 2025, signaling renewed investor momentum behind microreactors and small modular reactors (SMRs) as the companies move from design and licensing into pilot deployment and early commercialization. The announcements—which span a new $300-million-plus round at Radiant, an […]

The last coal-fired power generation unit in Washington state, scheduled to close by year-end, is the latest U.S. coal facility ordered to remain in operation by the Trump administration. The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) on December 16 told TransAlta, a Calgary, Canada-based independent power producer (IPP), to keep the 730-MW, coal-fired Centralia Unit 2 […]

A California-based nuclear energy company with plans to place small modular reactors (SMRs) in mile-deep boreholes said it will break ground December 9 for a pilot project at a site in Parsons, Kansas. Berkeley-headquartered Deep Fission on December 4 said the company’s Gravity Nuclear Reactor is bring prepared for the Great Plains Industrial Park. Deep […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said the agency has selected the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Holtec Government Services to support early deployments of advanced light-water small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S. The DOE on December 2 said project teams with the two groups will receive up to $800 million in “federal cost-shared funding” targeted for projects in Tennessee and Michigan.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) providing up to $100 million in federal backing for projects focused on restoring and modernizing the nation’s existing coal plant fleet.  The Oct. 31–issued NOFO, administered by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) under the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, […]

Advanced nuclear technology firm Oklo has broken ground on its inaugural 75-MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor at an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site. The project—one of three awarded to the company under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) newly established Reactor Pilot Program—is targeting operations between late 2027 and early 2028, though that timeline is contingent on […]

A leading trade association for the clean energy industry said its data shows growth in U.S. renewable energy deployments is slowing at a significant rate, as the Trump administration continues to adopt policies aimed at limiting the sector.

Advanced nuclear firm Aalo Atomics has secured new capital and regulatory backing to complete construction of its 10-MWe Aalo-X reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The project, recently selected under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, will demonstrate cold criticality by July 2026 in an unusually aggressive federal milestone for advanced […]

The U.S. Department of Energy released an $83.2 million loan disbursement to Holtec International on Thursday, bringing total federal funding to $335.1 million as the company moves toward completing America’s first commercial nuclear reactor restart. The fifth installment under DOE’s $1.52 billion loan guarantee follows key Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)  approvals that authorized Holtec to […]

The Trump administration has proposed new drone regulations that will eliminate case-by-case approval processes for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS)  operations, while Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy confirmed accelerated plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued its fifth 202(c) emergency order this year, directing PJM Interconnection to override environmental limits and dispatch an oil-fired power generating unit in Maryland strictly as needed to avert possible blackouts in the Baltimore region. The July 28 order, issued under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, authorizes […]