Bechtel and Westinghouse have launched a partnership to provide tailored decontamination, decommissioning and remediation (DD&R) services to US nuclear power plants.

The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant closed on 29 December due to "wholesale market flaws" which owner Entergy said made its operation uneconomic. The single-reactor power plant represented 72% of electricity generated in the state.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has started a multi-year campaign to process aluminum-clad used nuclear fuel stored at the Savannah River Site.

Developing new nuclear technologies requires overcoming considerable financial and regulatory hurdles, as the promise of clean, efficient electricity remains essential to US energy policy, the Nuclear Energy Institute said, following a meeting on 11 December of a House Science Committee.

The US Department of Energy (DoE) has formally issued a solicitation for federal loan guarantees worth up to $12.5 billion to support advanced nuclear energy projects.

A large structural component - the CA05 module - has been installed at the VC Summer unit 2, the first of two Westinghouse AP1000s under construction at the site in South Carolina.

An inspection of an underground pipe at a US nuclear power plant has been successfully completed using GE Hitachi's Surveyor robot. Previously, such examinations have usually involved excavation work.

Exelon has applied to the US regulator for a 20-year licence extension for its two-unit La Salle nuclear power plant in Illinois.

Rolls-Royce's Spinline modular digital instrumentation and control (I&C) platform has been approved for use in US nuclear power plants by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The US House of Representatives has passed legislation to authorize Department of Energy research on whether low-dose ionizing radiation poses a risk.

Updated figures for Uranium Energy Corp's Burke Hollow project in South Texas see inferred resources increase by 77% to 5.12 million pounds U3O8 (1969 tU) at an average grade of 0.09% U3O8.

No uranium processing campaigns are likely to take place in 2015 at the USA's only conventional uranium mill, White Mesa, after the current campaign finishes in March, according to operator Energy Fuels.