A competition with a fund of GBP1.3 million (USD1.8 million) has been launched to find ways for a human operator "to project in" by using virtual reality equipment to remotely perform complex tasks and operate equipment from a safe distance.

The US Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management has set out its key priorities for 2022 as it pursues its mission to achieve the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy brought about from decades of US nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research.

Electricity generation has ended at Scotland’s Hunterston B nuclear power plant with the shutting down of Reactor 4, an advanced gas-cooled reactor. Operator EDF says the power station produced enough electricity during its lifetime to power every home in Scotland for nearly 31 years.

The Brokdorf, Grohnde and Gundremmingen C nuclear power plants were permanently shut down on 31 December in compliance with Germany's nuclear phase-out policy. The move leaves three reactors in operation, which are scheduled to be taken offline by the end of this year.

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission and Onet Technologies expect early next year to begin dismantling the C419 cell of the APM pilot used fuel reprocessing plant facility at CEA's Marcoule site. A robot developed for the task is currently dismantling the front wall of the cell in order to gain access.

The final multi-purpose canister containing used nuclear fuel from the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Massachusetts was placed in dry storage on 13 December, marking the removal of all fissile material from its reactor building. Holtec International said the operation - completed 30 months after the reactor was shut down - sets a new world record for the speediest transfer of a plant's used fuel to on-site storage.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the transfer of the licences for the Palisades nuclear power plant from Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc to Holtec International following the plant's retirement next year. Holtec plans to take control of the Michigan plant and begin its decommissioning with a month of its retirement.

German utility RWE has awarded a contract to Westinghouse to dismantle two reactors at the Gundremmingen nuclear facility. It has also contracted a consortium comprising Framatome and Transnubel to dismantle the reactor of the Emsland plant.

The consortium of Nukem Technologies and Uniper Anlagenservice has completed cutting up the pressure vessel of the Barsebäck 1 reactor in Sweden. The applied two-stage thermal cutting technique would be refined and used on Barsebäck 2 as well as Oskarshamn 1 and 2.

Hunterston B Reactor 3 - a 490 MWe advanced gas-cooled reactor - was taken offline for the final time at midday on 26 November, marking the end of 46 years of operation. Its twin - Hunterston B Reactor 4 - is scheduled to shut down in January, which will see the end of power generation for the site in North Ayrshire, Scotland.

A milestone was reached in the decommissioning of Slovakia's Bohunice V1 reactor when Javys completed cutting up its pressure vessel. Most of the component has been disposed of as low-level radioactive waste.

The premature shutdown of Diablo Canyon units 1 and 2 will "inflict grave harm to California's economy and environment," according to the American Nuclear Society. The closure of California's last remaining nuclear power plant will cause more grid instability and rolling blackouts for the state because Diablo Canyon reliably supplies about 10% of in-state power, it says. Former US energy secretaries Steven Chu and Ernest Moniz have also called for the decision to shut down the plant to be reassessed.