The Government is in talks with Hitachi over purchasing the 20.8-hectare Wylfa nuclear site in Anglesey after Hitachi did not secure a financial support agreement
The Wylfa Newydd nuclear site in Anglesey, also known as Ynys Môn, has been in limbo since Hitachi formally abandoned the £16bn project in 2020, citing planning and pandemic-related delays.
Now, state-owned nuclear business Great British Nuclear (GBN) is in talks with Hitachi for the sale of the site, after which it hopes to find a new private sector partner to deliver the project.
A Hitachi spokesperson said: “We own two of the premier locations for nuclear new build in the UK and we will continue to speak with interested parties about the future for the sites.”
The second location is believed to be the Oldbury nuclear site in south Gloucestershire, where decommissioning works are ongoing.
Nuclear production in the UK is at a precipice
Most of the UK’s nuclear infrastructure is due to expire at the end of the decade, aggravating concerns about energy security and prices.
After MP’s demanded a more decisve commitment to nuclear expansion, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero rolled out plans for what they called the “biggest expansion of nuclear power for 70 years”.
The plans include a new power station equivalent in size to Hinkley C and Sizewell C, as well as a £300m investment into UK production. This would result in a quadrupling of UK nuclear power-up to 24 gigawatts by 2050.
Work is underway at Hinkley C (though not without issues), but Sizewell C is still seeking external investment. Both sites are projected to exceed their budgets.
The Wylfa nuclear site is home to the last of the Magnox reactors
In 2015, Wylfa’s Reactor 1 became the final Magnox power station to be decommissioned in the UK.
The site would be suitable for a large reactor, or a small modular reactor(SMR). SMRs are part of the Government’s strategy, as it hopes they will be cheaper and easier to build.
