MPs urge govt to commit to Wylfa nuclear plant

“It is difficult to see how the UK government can deliver its nuclear ambitions without taking forward a project at Wylfa,” states a report from the House of Commons’ Welsh Affairs Committee.

The cross-party committee’s “Nuclear energy in Wales” report pushes for Wylfa in Anglesey to be the location for the UK’s next gigawatt-scale nuclear power station after Sizewell C in Suffolk. The report, published Wednesday, describes the North Wales area as an “ideal site” for such a project.

Wylfa is no stranger to nuclear power stations, with a Magnox station operating at the site from 1971 until 2015. This power station is currently undergoing decommissioning. The building of a new nuclear power station on the site has been discussed since 2017, but fell through in 2019 because of a lack of government funding.

MPs are now arguing that a new nuclear power station at Wylfa should become a priority. They reason that creating a new nuclear power station fits in with the UK government’s ambition to use nuclear energy to meet up to a quarter of the nation’s electricity demand by 2050.

A new plant would also support the government’s levelling up agenda, with the Welsh Affairs Committee members arguing that the plant could support 10,000 jobs during the construction phase and another 900 permanent positions when the plant is operational.

“A gigawatt-scale nuclear energy project at Wylfa would be a game-changer for the North Wales economy,” said Stephen Crabb MP, chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee.

“The enormous investment would illustrate levelling up in action, creating well-paid, high-skilled jobs, and we would be a step closer to energy independence,” he continued.

“I urge ministers to finally give a nuclear energy project at Wylfa the green light.”

In its report, the committee did note several obstacles facing a nuclear station in Wylfa. The first is financial, with MPs noting that the older Hitachi project was suspended in 2019 because of an inability to reach a financial agreement between the government and Hitachi.

However, to combat this problem, the report suggests moving towards a ‘regulated asset base’ model, like at Sizewell C. The report states that this could reduce the overall cost of construction of a large-scale project by £30bn when compared to the more traditional ‘contracts for difference’ financial model.

The second obstacle surrounds land ownership, with Hitachi still holding claim to the land at Wylfa. If a new nuclear project is to go forward, the committee said that Hitachi should be encouraged to sell the site or at least join a consortium of developers to help progress such a project.

Both issues centre on a core need, according to the report. “More concrete commitment is required from the UK govt to deliver a project at Wylfa,” the report stated.

Crabb went further: “Despite the positive policy changes and stronger rhetoric from ministers about nuclear, a new power station at Wylfa is still far from certain.

“Important obstacles remain on financing which is limiting private sector investment, and on the issue of land ownership which is preventing a new developer coming in,” he continued.

“We must see concrete action on addressing these issues before the next general election, otherwise the uncertainty about the project will increase.”