Plans for the £20 billion (€21.9 billion) Wylfa Newydd project has been scrapped following Hitachi's announcement that it will be terminating its involvement with power plant projects in the UK.
An artist's rendition of the Wylfa Newydd plant.
The Anglesey power plant, on which all work was suspended in January following news that Hitachi had failed to reach a funding agreement with the British government, was originally being built by Horizon Nuclear Power before being acquired by Hitachi in 2012. The company had planned for it to be the biggest project ever proposed in Wales.
It was to be joined with the Oldbury project located on the River Severn in South Gloucestershire. Both plants were planned to produce a massive 5800 MW of power between them.
The situation involving its suspension was supposedly made exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hitachi announced in June it was hoping to secure extra funding to resume the project, but this never came to fruition.
In a statement, Horizon’s chief executive Duncan Hawthorne said: “Nuclear power has a critical role to play in helping tackle our energy needs, meeting our climate change targets and levelling up the economy through green growth and job creation.
“Wylfa Newydd on Anglesey and Oldbury on Severn are highly desirable sites for the new nuclear build. We will do our utmost to facilitate the prospects for development which will bring the major local, national and environmental benefits that nuclear can uniquely deliver as we push to transition to a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.”
Commenting on today’s announcement, Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “It is imperative that a way forward is found for the site, to deliver thousands of jobs, hundreds of apprenticeships and millions of pounds of investment into an economic boost for the area while delivering secure, reliable and low carbon power to underpin the UK’s transition to net zero.”
“If we are remotely serious about hitting our carbon reduction targets as a country then we need to invest now in proven low carbon technologies, including new nuclear,” said Sue Ferns, senior deputy general secretary of trade union Prospect. “The stark reality is that without replacement nuclear capacity the country faces a potential energy gap of 9-21 per cent at peak winter times.”
The Isle of Anglesey council has also confirmed in writing the suspension of the project.
Council leader Llinos Medi said: "This is very disappointing, particularly at such a difficult time economically."
Hitachi shelved the scheme, the biggest energy project ever proposed in Wales, over funding issues.
Anglesey council said it had received a letter from the Tokyo-based parent company confirming its decision.
Developers announced the new plant would have created 9,000 new jobs for the local area, but some locals welcomed the news of the plant's cancellation with more open arms.
Local action group "People Against Wylfa B" rejoiced the news, saying the project would have "endangered lives on Anglesey and beyond."
They added: "It would have ruined the environment over an area which is 10 times greater than the current site."
"Hitachi must ensure that no nuclear scheme will happen on the site in the future" and return the site to its former state, for community benefit.
"Proposals to develop green energy schemes would be an area where Hitachi's expertise could create many jobs here."
Business leaders in Wales called the loss of the site a "tremendous blow to the Welsh economy."
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