TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS & WHAT TO KNOW THIS WEEK
- Congressional Update
- Continuing Resolution Ends January 30 – no path for Energy and Water Appropriations Bill in the Senate….Yet
- National Defense Authorization Bill expected to move after Thanksgiving, new bill text expected early December - read more
below.
- Idaho to launch nuclear energy task force - read more below.
- Utah Governor and Brigham City Mayor announced a new partnership among the state, city, Hi Tech Solutions, and Holtec International.
- NRC extends the comment period for X-Energy's TX-1 fuel facility - read more below.
- Join ECA to learn more about Advancing New Nuclear with Datacenter Development on December 4!
- 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.
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION MOVING FORWARD$35 billion for NNSA/DOE programs; New Energy Parks Legislation Support in the Senate When Congress returns on December 2, we are expecting the conference committee report for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) reconciling the differences between the House and Senate Bills. The House and Senate are expected to begin voting during the second week of December. While there are high hopes for its ability to pass, debate on including a provision limiting states' abilities to
regulate artificial intelligence is proving contentious between lawmakers. The Senate-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) adds $32 billion in authorizations more
than the White House's original budget request, and includes a total of $35 Billion in authorizations for NNSA, EM and other DOE related defense activities. A detailed breakdown of the Senate 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 Weapons 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 One notable
inclusion in the Senate-passed NDAA is the Department of Energy parks program which ECA members have supported for the past decade. This program would give the Secretary of Energy authority to establish a
program to permit the establishment of energy parks on “former defense nuclear facilities”. These energy parks would provide locations for the development and deployment of energy technologies, advanced manufacturing technologies, and pilot programs. Included in the provisions of this section, the Secretary must consult with local governments with jurisdiction over, are adjacent to these areas, and any community reuse organizations. Further, included in the Senate version is a plan for deactivating and decommissioning nonoperational defense nuclear facilities. The Secretary of Energy shall develop a plan for deactivating and decommissioning these nonoperational facilities starting in 2025,
and will transfer the responsibilities of decommissioning and decontaminating to the Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management by 2029. Additionally, a provision is included that allows for the
manager of each field office of the Department of Energy with the authority to transfer environmental cleanup funds from a project or program under their jurisdiction of that office to another program no more than once per year and at an amount of no more than $5,000,000. ECA will provide a full summary of the highlights of the reconciled NDAA once the full bill text is released at the beginning of December. If you are interested in learning more about the Appropriations and Authorization website, visit our website.
IDAHO TO LAUNCH NUCLEAR TASK FORCEIdaho state leaders are in the process of selecting the members of a new nuclear energy task force that Gov. Brad Little created this fall, a top-ranking state energy official in the governor’s office said. Cally Younger,
administrator of the Idaho Governor’s Office and Energy and Mineral Resources, said Little’s office hopes to notify and announce the members of the new Advanced Nuclear Energy Task Force in the coming weeks. The task force will likely include state elected officials, leadership from Idaho National Laboratory, university or education officials, private industry representatives, a Tribal representative, local officials
and other partners, Younger said. The goal is to launch the task force in the coming weeks with an eye toward conducting the task force’s first meeting in February, Younger said. The task force may also look at supply chain issues and weigh the pros and cons of data centers, which consume large amounts of energy and water. In an interview Tuesday with the Idaho Capital Sun, Younger said the task force would look at government supported nuclear research, like the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, as well as private, commercial nuclear programs and the connections to higher education and workforce development. Younger said the state hopes to use the
new task force to capitalize on some of the momentum building around nuclear energy. Read the full story here.
NEW NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT PLANS ANNOUNCED IN UTAHUtah Governor Spencer Cox joined Brigham City Mayor D. J. Bott last week to announce a new partnership among the state, city, Hi Tech Solutions, and Holtec International. The partnership plans to develop a “full-scale nuclear energy ecosystem” based in Brigham City that will
feature advanced manufacturing, workforce development, and Holtec’s SMR-300. The announcement serves as a milestone in Governor Cox’s broader Operation Gigawatt, which was unveiled last year. The plan calls for doubling Utah’s energy production by 2034, in part by promoting new nuclear development. Since its creation, Operation Gigawatt has grown more focused on nuclear, with this latest news going as far as saying that
Utah is now preparing for a nuclear energy renaissance. The scope of the project is large: More than 700 initial construction jobs and 650 long-term positions are projected to be created. So too is the support, with more than $750 million in private investment already raised. As of yet, the number of Holtec SMR-300s planned for the site has not been
explicitly stated. In May, Holtec announced that it had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the State of Utah and Hi Tech Solutions to collaborate in the deployment of “a fleet of SMR-300 reactors across the Mountain West.” In that press release, Holtec also said it would work with Hi Tech Solutions to establish a permanent training facility in Utah by 2028 focused on operations, maintenance, and development of a skilled workforce for the existing reactor fleet and the next generation
of SMR deployments. This newest announcement made no mention of the 2028 deadline or prior agreements among the parties involved. Concurrently with these plans, Holtec is pursuing a number of SMR-300 deployment projects. Most notably, its Mission 2030 aims to deploy a pair of the reactors at the soon-to-restart Palisades nuclear power plant. Read the full story here.
NRC EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD FOR X-ENERGY'S TX-1 FUEL FACILITYThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the public comment period for a draft environmental impact statement for the TX-1 advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility being built in Oak Ridge, Tenn. until December 8. Small modular reactor developer X-energy and its subsidiary TRISO-X have started aboveground construction of the first-in-the-nation facility, which will be the first of two facilities built to manufacture TRISO fuel for use in X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactor. Published in the November 17 Federal Register, the TRISO-X's application for a 40-year license to possess and use special nuclear material at its TX-1 fuel fabrication facility. If approved, the license would allow the company
to produce TRISO fuel at the facility using HALEU. Read the full story here.
JOIN ECA FOR OUR NEXT WEBINAR "ADVANCING NEW NUCLEAR WITH DATACENTER DEVELOPMENT"
The next installment of ECA's Winter Webinar Series continues with "Advancing New Nuclear with Datacenter Development" on December 4 at 2:00pm ET. As artificial intelligence and cloud computing drive exponential growth in electricity demand, data center
developers are turning to nuclear energy for reliable, carbon-free power needed to operate continuously. This session explores the concerns local officials must address when co-locating data centers with existing or new nuclear generation. Speakers will discuss regulatory considerations, what makes an “ideal” site, community engagement, and partnership models that align digital infrastructure expansion with public safety and sustainability goals. Moderator: AJ Ridge - Director of Programs, ECA Iain Macdonald - Principal and Future Energy Systems Development Lead, HKS Ilissa Miller - Editor-in-Chief, DataCenter Post Aditi Verma - Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
NEW NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHT: TEXAS
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 Texas in the excerpt below: RELLIS Nuclear Proving Ground - The Texas A&M University System and four nuclear companies — Kairos Power, Natura Resources, Terrestrial Energy and Aalo Atomics — all
have agreed to work to bring reactors to Texas A&M-RELLIS, a 2,400-acre technology and innovation campus in Bryan, Texas. The first reactors could be constructed within five years. Once it is completed, power generated at the proving ground could supply power to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Learn more about the project here. Natura Resources Molten Salt Reactor - The NRC has issued a construction permit to Abilene Christian University to build the Natura MSR-1, a
first-of-a-kind salt fueled reactor licensed by the NRC. ACU’s molten salt research reactor will be the first deployment of the Natura MSR-1, a 1-megawatt thermal molten salt reactor system. Natura Resources brought together ACU’s NEXT Lab with Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin and Georgia Institute of Technology to form the Natura Resources Research Alliance to license and deploy the MSRR, which will be located at ACU’s Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center.
The research reactor will be Natura’s first deployment and accelerates the development of Natura’s 100 MWe systems for commercial applications. Learn more about
the project here. To learn more about New Nuclear projects in Texas 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.
Advancing New Nuclear with Datacenter Development - ECA Winter Webinar Series Virtual | December 4, 2025 Learn More Here Co-location Options with Nuclear Storage - ECA Winter Webinar Series Virtual | January 8,
2026 Learn More Here Siting Options for High Level Waste and Used Nuclear Fuel
- ECA Winter Webinar Series Virtual | February 5, 2026 Learn More Here Spent Fuel Storage and Advanced Fuel Cycle Facilities: Co-location for Safety and Sustainability - ECA Winter Webinar Series Virtual | March 5, 2026 Learn More Here ECA New Nuclear Forum 2026 Augusta, GA | April 21 - 23 Learn More Here National Cleanup Workshop 2026 Arlington, VA | September 14-16 Learn More Here
Marketplace October 27, 2025 The nuclear technology company Kairos is using molten salt cooling, a technique originally developed in the mid-20th century, to advance the safety and reliability of small, modular nuclear reactors, according to journalist Mark Harris. Some AI companies are turning to nuclear power to meet demand for electricity. But traditional nuclear plants can take decades to bring online. Now some tech companies are partnering with startups trying to build small, modular nuclear reactors, designed with speed in mind. One such company, Kairos, has a deal with Google to build a fleet of modular reactors. To do so, it’s
relying on a technique first developed in the mid-20th century: molten-salt cooling. Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with journalist Mark Harris, who wrote about Kairos for MIT Technology Review, to learn more. Listen Here Gone Fission Podcast October 27, 2025 While many companies--foreign and domestic--are engaged in advancing the nuclear renaissance, 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
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