Wylfa named as UK Government's preferred site for next 'mega-nuclear' power station

Wylfa has been named as the UK Government’s preferred site for the UK’s third mega-nuclear power station. Back in March the government in London agreed to buy the Anglesey site and a nuclear location at Oldbury, Gloucestershire for £160m.

The island site had been tipped for years as a prime site for nuclear development in the UK. A 'Wylfa B' nuclear plant has twice been abandoned by power giants, with Hitachi withdrawing in 2020 after failing to reach a funding agreement with UK Government.

Now the government is kickstarting talks with global energy firms to explore building a new power plant, with it revealed recently that talks were taking place with a state-backed Korean firm. The government is looking to build a major nuclear power station, similar in scale to Hinkley in Somerset and Sizewell in Suffolk.

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A new project would revive the nuclear history of Wylfa and bring thousands of jobs and millions of pounds of investment to the area, boosting the local economy. Sitting on the North Wales coast the site is ideally-suited to host one given its proximity to cooling water and the local nuclear heritage.

The news will be welcomed by those backing nuclear in Wales but after two false dawns and many more hurdles to overcome no one will be popping the Champagne corks yet. There is still the huge challenge of getting private investors and developers on board and building reactors at the right cost for taxpayers and bill-payers, with the budget for Hinkley C already double the original estimate at £33bn.

For now though it is a step in the right direction for the return of nuclear generation to North Wales.

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho, said: “We are powering ahead with the biggest expansion of nuclear energy in seventy years. Anglesey has a proud nuclear history and it is only right that, once again, it can play a central role in boosting the UK’s energy security. Wylfa would not only bring clean, reliable power to millions of homes – it could create thousands of well-paid jobs and bring investment to the local area.”

But Labour’s Shadow Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said: “Any progress is welcome but people on Ynys Môn will believe it when they see it. Successive Tory governments have failed to build a single nuclear power plant that will provide lower carbon power, boost energy security and create jobs.

“It’s been five years since Ministers sat back and watched as the previous plans for Wylfa fell through. That project would have been 50% completed by now, and we’d be seeing the benefits of thousands of construction jobs with almost a thousand more permanent jobs on the way."

Ynys Môn MP Virginia Crosbie, who has campaigned tirelessly for a new nuclear station on the island, said: "There are not enough words to describe what this means to Anglesey after decades of neglect. I am just so pleased because it means high-quality jobs for thousands of islanders so our young will not have to leave for work. It is a huge investment on our island for generations."

The development of the site will be critical to meet ambitions to quadruple nuclear capacity by up to 24GW by 2050. This will come from a mix of traditional large-scale power plants and small modular reactors.

Gwen Parry-Jones, CEO of Great British Nuclear, said: “Having agreed to purchase the Wylfa site earlier this year, GBN looks forward to working with the Government on the market engagement programme for large scale gigawatt providers and also delivering this vital project in the years to come.”

Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies said: “This is significant and welcome news for Wales that promises to bring thousands of high-quality jobs to the local economy."

Sue Ferns, Senior Deputy General Secretary of Prospect union, said: "Wylfa represents the best site in Europe for a large-scale nuclear power station. With this announcement this has now been recognised by the UK government. Gigawatt scale new nuclear power stations are vital to hitting net zero and for our energy security. But they also maintain well paid and highly skilled jobs, meaning this project would be a major boost to the Welsh economy.

“Now we need a laser-like focus on delivery of new nuclear to make sure skills and experience are not lost, and costs are reduced as we progress.”

Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “The Government is absolutely right to pursue more large-scale nuclear alongside the SMR programme: it is proven technology that delivers clean, sovereign power and can transform communities with thousands of high quality, long term jobs and apprenticeships. Wylfa is an ideal place for a big nuclear project, and the community knows nuclear.

“We welcome the Government’s engagement with potential partners internationally, and we urge them to move forward at pace. A large-scale project at Wylfa would be the single biggest inward investment in Welsh history, and a huge step towards both energy security and net zero for the whole country.”

Anglesey council leader and Plaid candidate for Ynys Môn Llinos Medi said: "This announcement is to be welcomed, but we have to remain wary of the political motivations behind it. All we’re being told is that Wylfa is a priority site for nuclear development, something we’ve long been aware of. Without any further details or timescales to accompany it, unfortunately, this announcement doesn’t offer anything but warm words.

"The truth is, it was the UK Conservative Government’s fault that plans to press ahead with this development were scrapped back in 2019, taking away thousands of potential jobs that local people were promised and putting us all the way back to square one.

"While I’m glad that developing a nuclear power station at Wylfa is back on the table, the priority for these plans must centre around the needs of our local communities on Ynys Môn."

Labour’s candidate for Ynys Môn, Ieuan Môn Williams, said: “The Government could have made this progress four years ago, but have cynically waited until the eve of an election to take action. I’m proud that it was a Labour Government which designated Wylfa for development 16 years ago, our commitment to delivering for the people of Ynys Môn is unwavering.”

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