Expect another contract extension for Savannah River Site management team
Jan. 26—Savannah River Nuclear Solutions will likely have its contract extended in the near future, after the Department of Energy late last year axed its search for the next Savannah River Site management team.
The potential add-on was hinted at Tuesday by Savannah River Site manager Michael Budney, who told a local panel talks about "what we're going to do for an extension for the current contractor" would ensue with the Energy Department. The site manager also said there would be talks "with headquarters" about a future search, or when it would resume.
Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has for more than a decade managed the site south of Aiken, as well as various national defense and remediation ventures there.
The department's decision to suspend its search for a new management-and-operations contractor left Savannah River Nuclear Solutions in charge indefinitely. With no new contract on the horizon, and no competition bearing down, the status quo held.
In a notice quietly posted online at the time, the department said it hit pause because it needed to reexamine a much-anticipated request for proposals, citing the National Nuclear Security Administration's flourishing footprint at the site.
A draft request for proposals for the new management contract — worth some $21.5 billion — was issued in April 2021. The decade-long deal included work for both the Energy Department's cleanup office, Environmental Management, and the NNSA.
Environmental Management is the current Savannah River Site landlord, and recently gave Savannah River Nuclear Solutions an "excellent" rating.
The National Nuclear Security Administration has, in the recent past, considered taking charge of the site. But that has yet to happen, if it will at all.
