TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS & WHAT TO KNOW THIS WEEK
- Congress remains at an impasse over passage of a continuing resolution (CR).
- President Trump directs the Pentagon to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing - read more
below.
- Senate-passed National Defense Authorization Act bill text available - read the highlights below.
- DOE announced the Discovery and Lux supercomputers to be housed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory - read more below.
- ECA announces Winter Webinar Series beginning November 5 - register here.
- ECA New Nuclear Forum to be hosted in Augusta, GA from April 21-23, 2026.
- ECA's latest report "From the Atomic Age to New Nuclear" highlights new nuclear projects across the country - see more below.
- Visit ECA on LinkedIn for regular updates.
PRESIDENT TRUMP DIRECTS THE PENTAGON TO RESUME NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING
On Wednesday, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years, Reuters reports. He said he was instructing the Pentagon to test the U.S. nuclear arsenal on an "equal basis" with other nuclear powers. “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” he stated. “That process will begin immediately.” Read more from POLITCO here.
SENATE-PASSED NDAA HIGHLIGHTS
Earlier this month, the Senate passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which adds $32 billion more than the White House's original
budget request. The Senate-passed bill includes a total of $26,872,240,000 in authorizations for NNSA and EM activities - an increase from the requested $25,260,000,000. A detailed breakdown of those authorizations are listed below (in thousands), and available to view here. Atomic Energy Defense Activities: $35,015,250 National Nuclear Security Administration: $26,872,240 Defense Environmental Cleanup: $6,961,000 Defense Uranium Enrichment D&D:
$0 Other Defense Activities: $1,182,000 Production Modernization Los Alamos Plutonium Modernization: $1,505,386 Savannah River Plutonium Modernization: $1,205,486 Defense Environmental Cleanup: $6,961,000 Richland: $837,521 Office of River Protection: $2,100,427 Idaho National Laboratory: $460,021 Los
Alamos National Laboratory: $278,288 Oak Ridge Reservation: $543,697 Savannah River Site: $1,616,638 Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: $415,424 Over 880 amendmendments were submitted to this bill with about 65 making it into the final draft - including one by Senator Gallego of Arizona requiring the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program for deploying microreactors. ECA will continue to monitor this bill as it enters the reconciliation process between the House and Senate. Both the Senate and House hope to have a reconciled bill finalized by
Thanksgiving. If you are interested in learning more about the Appropriations and Authorization website, visit our website.
REGISTER NOW – JOIN ECA TO LEARN ABOUT EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING FOR NUCLEAR PROJECTS
ECA kicks off a forthcoming Winter Webinar Series with our first webinar titled "Creating Emergency Response Planning for Nuclear Storage Projects" Advanced nuclear projects are moving toward construction, and local governments play a frontline role in ensuring that emergency preparedness and management systems keep pace with development. City and county officials oversee first responders, coordinate public safety communications, and maintain the trust of residents who live
and work near project sites. This webinar will highlight how mayors, emergency managers, and developers collaborate to build readiness from day one—through joint planning, drills, and transparent communication. Participants will gain insight into best practices for integrating project-specific safety requirements into local emergency operations and for sustaining preparedness over the full lifecycle of a nuclear
facility. Speakers will include: Moderator: Laura Hermann - Deputy Executive Director, Energy Communities Alliance Dr. Erica Bickford - Director for the Office of Storage & Transportation, DOE-NE (Invited) Chief Mike Cochran - Police Chief, City of Craig, Colorado Lea Perlas - Fusion Program Director, Virginia Department of Health Randall Ryti - Councilor, Los Alamos County, New Mexico Register for the upcoming webinar here!
DAY 30 OF THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNThis week, the federal government enters its fourth week of shutdown, with the Senate still unable to reach the 60-vote threshold to pass a CR.
DOE ANNOUNCED DISCOVERY AND LUX SUPERCOMPUTERS AT OAK RIDGEThe U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday its newest supercomputers, Discovery and Lux, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that will expand America’s leadership in artificial intelligence for scientific computing, strengthen national security, and drive the next generation of Gold
Standard Science and innovation. “Winning the AI race requires new and creative partnerships that will bring together the brightest minds and industries American technology and science has to offer,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “The first example of a new commonsense approach to computing partnerships with Lux. We are also announcing, as part of a competitive procurement process, Discovery. Working with AMD
and HPE, we’re bringing new capacity online faster than ever before, turning shared innovation into national strength, and proving that America leads when private-public partners build together.” Discovery and Lux are two powerful computing systems designed to help drive new scientific discoveries using artificial intelligence. Both machines will be powered by AMD and built by HPE. Discovery will be led by HPE and the
AMD-led Lux system will leverage Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) as part of the Lux AI Cluster. Discovery and Lux will enable researchers to explore innovative AI-centric approaches, supporting a new wave of U.S. technological revolutions in energy, manufacturing, medicine and cybersecurity; advancing national leadership; strengthening prosperity; and improving lives. “National Labs are perfectly suited to support
this unique public private partnership because of our ability to assemble and steward curated data for national priorities that have an inherently federal interest; because of our deep technical expertise in the development and application of AI for science and technology at scale; and because of our demonstrated ability to deploy hardware and software at scale for these missions,” said ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer. Read the full announcement here.
NEW NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHT: IOWA
In ECA’s latest paper, “From the Atomic Age to New Nuclear,” ECA captures a snapshot of the nuclear projects underway in the United States by state including both federal and private
sites, and lays out the attributes that make energy communities optimal for this new era of American nuclear leadership. Keep reading what new nuclear projects are already underway in the great state of Iowa in the excerpt below: Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant Restart - NextEra Energy’s Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant, located in Palo Iowa, shuttered in 2020 when it became unprofitable to operate. However, NextEra
filed a notice with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to request a licensing change. This could be the first step to restoring the facility's operating license and restarting plant operations as early as late 2028. Read more about the project here. To learn more about New Nuclear projects in Iowa and across the country, as well as how energy communities will be instrumental to their success, click here to read From the Atomic Age to New Nuclear.
ECA NEW NUCLEAR FORUM TO BE HOSTED IN AUGUSTA, GA FROM APRIL 21-23, 2026
Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) is pleased to host the fifth annual ECA Forum in Augusta, GA from April 21 - April 23, 2026. The meeting is part of ECA’s ongoing New Nuclear Initiative to define the role of local governments in supporting the development of the new nuclear technologies. April 21 | Registration Opens & Nuclear 101 April 22 | Full Day General Session April 23 | Half-Day General Session The ECA Forum is the only meeting designed to bring together DOE, federal, state, local and tribal governments and policymakers with developers, utilities, regulators, industry, and academia to identify opportunities, challenges and to build the partnerships necessary to support nuclear development. Stay tuned for further details on registration, agenda, and
more! WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
The ECA Forum is open to communities, State, Tribal and local policymakers, industry, utilities, developers, experts, financiers, state legislators, community groups, and economic development organizations working to build capacity and support for new nuclear development in the U.S. AGENDA:
Agenda coming soon! ECA is working with private and community partners to develop an agenda that continues to look holistically at the what a nuclear project entails: from the front-end of the fuel-cycle to the back-end of the fuel cycle, from building local support, to state support and enabling legislation, from identifying the right public-private partnerships, to understanding
regulatory oversight. Don't miss out - click here to register!
Gone Fission Podcast October 27, 2025 While many companies--foreign and domestic--are engaged in advancing the nuclear renaissaance, one company stands
out for its reputation and deep involvement in the evolution of commercial nuclear power over a period of decades. In this week’s episode, host Michael Butler takes a look at what Bechtel is doing today to further advanced nuclear technology in the U.S. and abroad. Our guest is Ahmet Tokpinar, Principal Vice President and General Manager of Bechtel’s nuclear power business iine. We’ll also have more from Mike Deane, the “Nuclear Average Joe”, who’s burning up the internet with his easy-to-digest
layman’s take on the benefits of nuclear power. Listen Here
|
|
