The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, signed into law on December 27, includes the Energy Act of 2020 (Energy Act) and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (Taxpayer Act), which contains tax provisions important to the energy sector.

Is it science fiction to consider living on the moon or traveling to Mars in only a few months? Maybe not. The US government is promoting technologies to place nuclear reactors in space to power human existence on the moon and to propel spacecraft to Mars.

Christopher Ford, assistant secretary of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation at the US State Department, spoke on July 11 at the Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) 2018 Summer Conference on nuclear technology transfer to China. PONI is a program hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies to further discussions on nuclear technology’s role throughout the world.

The New York Times recently published an important article discussing the tightening supply and uncertain future of MO-99, a short-lived medical isotope widely used for medical diagnostics in the United States and worldwide.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff recently agreed with NuScale Power’s proposal for the NuScale small modular reactor to eliminate the use of Class 1E electrical systems as part of its reactor design certification process.

The US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has published a new funding opportunity for up to $20 million as part of its Modeling Enhanced Innovations Trailblazing Nuclear Energy Reinvigoration (MEITNER) program.

Russia recently suspended or terminated its nuclear agreements with the United States, further deteriorating diplomatic relations between the two countries.