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The Department of Energy announced the selection of four companies to begin exploring the possibility of conducting a deep borehole field test.

Nuclear and renewable technologies are crucial parts of the United States’ energy system, providing clean, secure, abundant power. Nuclear energy is the largest zero carbon electricity source on the grid today, while renewable energy is the fastest growing form of any electricity source over the last two years. But, like chocolate and peanut butter, the question is – can these two great technologies be even better together? To help answer this question, the Department of Energy is examining the benefits and potential synergies of energy systems that feature both nuclear and renewable technologies.

We separate fact from fiction in the new Netflix series "Stranger Things."

Interns from Idaho State University completed a nine-month-long demonstration project for Idaho National Lab engineers.

DOE Workshop: Pathway to SMR Commercialization The Office of Nuclear Energy requests domestic industry participation in a 2-day comprehensive workshop to elicit opinions on two key topics: (1) manufacturing technologies to reduce cost and schedule for Small Modular Reactor (SMR) parts and components and meet the demands of the industry as it grows; and (2) additional SMR capabilities beyond baseload electricity generation, including use of SMRs in hybrid energy systems and in meeting national security needs.

This Earth Day I want to take the opportunity to reflect on some of the ways the Office of Nuclear Energy has been working to innovate nuclear technologies, with the goals of supporting U.S. low-carbon energy objectives and protecting the planet from the harmful effects of global climate change.

Thirty years ago this month, two events happened that had profound and lasting impacts on energy and environmental issues in the U.S. and around the world. One overshadowed the other in public awareness, but both set the stage for a revolutionary approach to assuring nuclear safety.

Today, in downtown Chicago, the Department of Energy is hosting the first of eight public meetings around the country on the Department’s consent-based siting initiative for facilities needed to manage our nation’s nuclear waste. We hope to hear from the public, communities, states, Tribal governments, and others on what matters to them as the Department moves forward in developing a consent-based process for siting facilities to store, transport, and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan. It was one of the most powerful earthquakes on record, unleashing a tsunami that ravaged 430 miles of coastline, destroying communities, and killing nearly 16,000 people. The combined effects of the earthquake and tsunami overwhelmed on and offsite power systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, leading to the meltdown of three reactors and the release of radioactive contaminants into the surrounding environment. Five years on, the decommissioning and clean-up at Fukushima remains in the early stages and will likely take decades to be completed. In the aftermath of this multi-unit accident, the global nuclear community has been reassessing certain safety assumptions about nuclear reactor plant design, operations and emergency actions, particularly with respect to extreme events that might occur.

To hasten the development of innovative technologies, the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) FY17 budget request, announced today, focuses on further improving our infrastructure capabilities so that we can be more responsive to innovators who want us to establish a broader set of research, development and demonstration capabilities and to make those capabilities easier to access.