national security
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NuclearBWXT Secures Contract to Advance Domestic Uranium Enrichment Pilot Plant
BWXT Technologies has won a contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to evaluate options for deploying a centrifuge pilot plant that could establish a new domestic uranium enrichment capability suitable for national security purposes. The Lynchburg, Virginia–based company on Aug. 26 said the NNSA contract would kick off a yearlong engineering study as […]
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CybersecurityBiden Takes Executive Action to Strengthen National Cybersecurity, Secure Supply Chains
The Biden administration this week issued a new spate of actions to bolster the nation’s cybersecurity, though details of its 100-day plan issued last month to address risks to the U.S. bulk power system (BPS) remain scant. In a May 11 notice, the president said his administration would continue, for one year, a national emergency declared […]
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IIOTNuclear a Major Focus in Trump’s Latest Budget Request—and 8 Other Takeaways
Yucca Mountain, the 1987 Congressionally appointed deep geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel (SNF), may be officially dead; transmission assets held by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and three Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) will be put up for sale; and hundreds of millions of dollars in unobligated balances for flagship programs like the Advanced Research […]
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NewsTrump Acts on Critical Infrastructure Resiliency Against EMP Threats
President Trump has signed an executive order (EO) to boost coordination for and national resilience against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) threats—both from nuclear warfare and natural events like solar superstorms. The action suggests new federal mandates to protect critical infrastructure against EMP events and attacks may be on the horizon. Senior Trump administration officials from the National Security […]
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Legal & RegulatoryAs DOE’s Coal Rescue Reportedly Dead-Ends, Stakeholders Recommend New Pathways
The White House may have shelved an effort to force grid operators to buy power from uneconomic coal and nuclear plants amid opposition inside the administration, Politico reported on October 15. The publication reported “four people with knowledge of the discussions” have confirmed that opposition from the president’s own advisers on the National Security Council […]
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RenewablesDOE’s Quadrennial Review: 8 Trends That Are Shaping the U.S. Electric System
Beyond major reliability events that have prompted regional blackouts in the past, the U.S. grid faces “imminent danger from cyber attacks,” warns the second installation of the Obama administration’s Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). Here are other key trends outlined in the comprehensive study of the nation’s electricity system. The QER, available on the DOE web site, identifies the threats, […]