Wylfa nuclear sale talks ongoing
Published 7 July 2023
Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
The UK government has confirmed that conversations are ongoing about the sale of the Wylfa nuclear site.
In its response to a recent report by the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee into nuclear energy, the government says the sale of the north Wales site is a “commercial decision” for its owner Hitachi, which has abandoned its own plans to build a power station there.
The site on Ynys Mon has been earmarked by the government as a prospective site for housing one of the next generation GW scale nuclear power plants.
The government’s response to the committee says: “We continue to have a positive relationship and strong dialogue with all nuclear site owners (as nominated under the 2011 National Policy Statement) and remain in a conversation with them about how to best enable and deliver on the government’s ambition for up to 24GW of nuclear energy by 2050.”
Rolls Royce has been eyeing up the land at Wylfa, which is next to a redundant nuclear power plant, as a potential site for deploying the small modular reactors (SMRs) it is currently developing.
However the government response says “no decisions” have been taken over which technologies future projects will proceed with or at which sites.
The committee’s chair, Stephen Crabb MP, said: “Wylfa is the next best nuclear site, after Sizewell C, to realise the UK government’s nuclear energy ambitions. It is promising that there is a constructive and positive relationship between Ministers and Hitachi but we would like to see more progress in finding a buyer to crack on with creating a nuclear power plant.
“Great British Nuclear, as called for and welcomed by our committee, is a strong and positive move by the UK government to illustrate its commitment to the sector. Its response to our report today sets out some early priorities, and I look forward to learning of the successful SMR projects later this year.
“We mustn’t lose momentum on the nuclear energy agenda, particularly given the enormous benefits it can provide for people and businesses across Wales.”
Please login or Register to leave a comment.