Wylfa is set to be home to one of the UK’s largest nuclear power plants. According to reports, the proposed Wylfa nuclear power plant will be as large as the 3,200 MWe EPR Hinkley Point C and the 3,200 MWe Sizewell C nuclear power stations. Hinkley Point C is currently under construction in Somerset, England, while Sizewell C is being built in Suffolk, England.
In May 2024, the UK ministers named the site, which is situated west of Cemaes Bay on the island of Anglesey, off the northwestern coast of Wales, as the preferred site for the project. This came approximately 6 months after the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy urged the ministers to back Wylfa for the construction of the nuclear power plant.
The cross-party group of MPs and Peers also urged the government to start negotiating as soon as possible to determine which reactor technology is best placed to deliver the project.
Current Status
SInce the purchase of the land from Hitachi who abandoned palns for a plant in 2019 nothing much has happened on the ground. The government needs to secure an operator who will then be able to move head with the project. Ony then will the governments plasn to quadruple power geenration from nuclear energy be closer to reality
The proposed reactor technology for the Wylfa nuclear power plant
Reportedly, the government is already in talks with nuclear reactor technology providers that have expressed their interest in the construction of the nuclear power plant at Wylfa. These companies include Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO or Hanjeon), Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Électricité de France (EDF).
KEPCO is proposing the use of its APR1400 reactor technology in the construction of the Wylfa nuclear power plant. The APR1400 reactor technology has recently been used at the Barakah nuclear power plant, the United Arab Emirates’ first nuclear power station, the first nuclear power station in the Arabian Peninsula, the second of its kind in the Persian Gulf region and the first commercial nuclear power station in the Arab World.
Westinghouse on the other hand, in conjunction with Bechtel Corporation, an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company, is proposing the use of its AP1000 reactor technology while EDF is proposing its own EPR units that are deployed at Hinkley Point and Sizewell.
UK’s government’s ambitious plan to generate 24 gigawatts of energy from nuclear by 2050
The development of the Wylfa nuclear power plant is part of the UK’s government ambitious plan to increase its nuclear energy production from 6 to 24 gigawatts (enough to provide a quarter of the UK’s electricity needs) by 2050. This will be the biggest expansion of nuclear power in the country for 70 years. The end goal is to reduce electricity bills, support thousands of jobs and improve UK energy security.
In addition to the construction of the gigawatt nuclear power plant, as part of the plan, the government will also invest up to £300 million in the production of HALEU, the fuel required to power high-tech new nuclear reactors, and £10 million in the development of skills and sites needed to produce other advanced nuclear fuels in the UK.
Furthermore, the government aims to secure 3 – 7GW worth of investment decisions every 5 years from 2030 to 2044 on new nuclear projects.
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