Tag

Department Of Energy

All articles tagged with #department of energy

national-security11 days ago•0 min saved

FBI Arrests DOE Engineer for Alleged Houthi Support and Yemen Trip

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, a 51-year-old Department of Energy electrical engineer from Richland, Washington, was arrested by the FBI on October 2, 2026. He faces charges of providing material support to the Iran-backed Houthis, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Authorities allege Ellaboudy purchased precursor chemicals for explosives and drone parts, traveled to Yemen using an official passport, and assisted an undercover source posing as a Houthi colonel in improving communications equipment. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

via CBS News|

#department-of-energy #fbi #houthis

national-security11 days ago•125 min saved

DOE Engineer Arrested for Alleged Houthi Support and Yemen Trip

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, a 51-year-old Department of Energy electrical engineer from Richland, Washington, was arrested by the FBI on charges of providing material support to the Houthis. Authorities allege he purchased precursor chemicals for explosives and drone parts, traveled to Yemen using an official passport, and assisted an undercover source posing as a Houthi colonel in improving communications equipment. Ellaboudy faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

via AP News|

#department-of-energy #fbi #houthis

energy-and-infrastructure17 days ago•18 min saved

DOE Unleashes $1.9B to Upgrade Grid for Data Center Demand

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $1.9 billion to 31 utility projects under the SPARK program to add 23 GW of transmission capacity. These upgrades aim to address data center power demands by modernizing existing lines rather than building new corridors, with total project costs reaching $5.3 billion.

via The Register|

#data-centers #department-of-energy #energy-and-infrastructure

energy-policy29 days ago•12 min saved

Federal Court Voids DOE Emergency Order to Keep Michigan Coal Plant Online

A D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that the Department of Energy (DOE) cannot invoke emergency powers under the Federal Power Act to keep Michigan’s J.H. Campbell coal plant operating. The court found no evidence of an actual electricity shortage, rejecting the administration’s claim that the plant was necessary to prevent blackouts. The decision invalidates six 90-day emergency orders issued in 2025 and allows Michigan to proceed with its planned decommissioning of the 64-year-old facility.

via Gizmodo|

#coal-plant-decommissioning #dc-circuit-court-of-appeals #department-of-energy

entertainment1 month ago•7 min saved

A Silent Battle Over Nuclear Waste on Indigenous Lands

A review of the documentary 'To Use a Mountain' that traces the stalled push to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, highlighting the human cost to rural and Indigenous communities, the DOE’s utilitarian approach, and the broader environmental justice issues tied to nuclear policy, all told through an impressionistic, human-centered cinematic style.

via The Guardian|

#department-of-energy #entertainment #environmental-justice

business1 month ago•14 min saved

US DOE backs Calif. lithium venture with $100M for Great Salt Lake plant

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Waterleaf P1 HoldCo (a Lilac Solutions subsidiary) a $100 million grant to develop a commercial lithium extraction and refining facility on the Great Salt Lake’s northeastern shore, aiming to double U.S. lithium production and strengthen domestic supply chains; Utah is positioning itself as a leader in critical minerals, with federal coordination on water use and brine return amid environmental concerns as the project moves forward.

via KSL News|

#business #critical-minerals #department-of-energy

politics2 months ago•10 min saved

Beshear: White House cut me out of Kentucky’s mega data center plan

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says the White House didn’t brief him before unveiling a $100 billion data-center and energy hub on a DOE site in Paducah, a move that underscores the political scramble surrounding large-scale AI infrastructure. Beshear criticized the lack of details on scope, power needs and environmental implications, while DOE says it notified his office in advance. The project—funded by NextEra Energy and Brookfield—has sparked local and state scrutiny over electricity costs, environmental impact, and governance as Beshear weighs a potential presidential run and issues an executive order to set standards for data centers.

via Politico|

#beshear #data-centers #department-of-energy

politics2 months ago•194 min saved

Trump Admin Admits Political Criteria Behind Clean-Energy Grant Cancellations

In a federal court filing, the Energy Department said it recommended canceling more than 600 clean-energy grants in states that voted for Kamala Harris, with 284 grants terminated in October 2025. Democrats decry the move as partisan retaliation by the Trump administration, arguing grants were targeted based on political identity; the filing describes the cuts as part of a broader effort to punish opponents, while supporters frame it as a policy-driven action.

via CNN|

#clean-energy-grants #department-of-energy #kamala-harris

politics2 months ago•3 min saved

Energy Department admits grants canceled based on state politics

A court filing reveals the Energy Department acknowledged that about 284 federal research grants were canceled solely because the recipient state voted for the Democratic candidate in 2024 (blue states with two Democratic senators), with 340 other grants proposed for termination but not canceled. The DOE said the tranche was selected for political reasons rather than programmatic factors, while officials later disputed that the terminations were politically motivated. The episode unfolds amid White House and OMB moves to grant political appointees greater control over federal grants and their alignment with the president’s priorities.

via NBC News|

#blue-states #court-filing #department-of-energy

technology3 months ago•6 min saved

Three DOE-backed microreactors hit criticality, signaling a data-center power path

Three DOE-backed microreactors have reached criticality—Unity by Deployable Energy, plus Antares and Valar Atomics—marking a milestone in demonstrating compact reactors for powering data centers and other high-demand loads; however, experts say criticality is only an early step and scaling, HALEU fuel supply, financing, and NRC licensing remain major hurdles before any commercial deployment.

via TechSpot|

#criticality #data-centers #department-of-energy

energy3 months ago•7 min saved

Small Nuclear Startups Hit a Critical Milestone, but Big Hurdles Remain

Three startups in the DOE’s pilot program have turned on new reactors and reached criticality, a milestone meant to jump‑start a new wave of small modular reactors and carbon‑free power. While the speed is aided by regulatory cuts and lab support, experts caution these are test reactors, not commercial products, and licensing, fuel supply, and cost hurdles still loom before any grid deployment—despite Valar Atomics’ criticality demonstrations (even powering an Nvidia chip) and other pilots aiming to be critical soon, including Antares Nuclear and Deployable Energy; Aalo Atomics has yet to hit criticality.

via WIRED|

#criticality #department-of-energy #energy

science-policy3 months ago•7 min saved

Genesis Mission Takes Center Stage in US AI and Quantum Push

Darío Gil, the DoE’s science under-secretary, is leading a high-profile push into AI and quantum science through the Genesis initiative, which aims to create an overarching AI platform that connects scientific instruments, supercomputers, and data across 17 national labs. The first Genesis funding round drew about 5,000 proposals and $293 million in awards, with the program totaling roughly $520 million so far. The effort coincides with a 2028 target to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer, even as researchers worry that basic-science funding could be squeezed by AI investments. Gil argues the funds will remain spread across disciplines and emphasizes collaboration with industry and academia to harness, safeguard, and guide AI’s future.

via Nature|

#artificial-intelligence #department-of-energy #genesis-mission

energy3 months ago•15 min saved

U.S. backs 10 new nuclear reactors with $17.5B in loans

The Energy Department announced a $17.5 billion loan package to support the construction of 10 large nuclear reactors, signaling a major federal push to expand nuclear power in the United States, with the Vogtle plant in Georgia shown among the facilities.

via AP News|

#department-of-energy #energy #energy-policy

energy3 months ago•2 min saved

US to back 10 AP1000 nuclear reactors with $17.5B loan package

The Energy Department will provide about $17.5 billion in loans to five special-purpose vehicles to finance the construction of 10 large AP1000 reactors (two per project, each ~1.1 GW). The loans aim to lower costs and speed completion by up to three years, with significant equity contributions from Westinghouse and partners; long-term power purchase agreements from major tech firms are expected to support the projects, though site selections have not been announced yet.

via CNBC|

#department-of-energy #energy #energy-policy

policy8 months ago•13 min saved

Trump curbs climate rules, sidelining a contrarian science project

The White House moves to unwind the EPA’s endangerment finding, rolling back greenhouse-gas regulations and avoiding reliance on a DOE-backed contrarian report; the five researchers behind that report faced heavy criticism and lawsuits, and EPA’s final action signals a regulatory argument rather than a challenge to mainstream climate science.

via Politico|

#climate-change #department-of-energy #donald-trump