MPs call for ‘concrete action’ to secure £20bn Welsh nuclear project to meet energy targets

Ministers must make “concrete action” on nuclear energy and secure a £20 billion project on the Welsh coastline to meet ambitious energy targets, MPs argue in a new report.

The Welsh Affairs Committee said the UK government’s commitment to increasing nuclear energy production is still lacking despite the issue having risen up the policy agenda in recent years.

The paper published today (Wednesday 3 May) urged leaders to secure the financial and land ownership agreements needed for the proposed Wylfa Newydd project in North Wales to go ahead.

The report said the development on the Anglesey coastline is vital for the government to realise its ambition for nuclear energy and it will meet up to a quarter of UK electricity demand - around 24GW - by 2050.

But the project has been in a “state of limbo” for the “last couple of decades” and the new power station is “still far from certain”, Welsh Affairs Committee Chair Stephen Crabb said.

The UK currently generates around 15% of its electricity from about 6.5GW of nuclear capacity. Part of the government’s plan is to enhance energy security and deliver on net zero.

Cross-party committee members, who are behind the Nuclear energy in Wales report, have championed the project as a levelling-up opportunity for a rural part of the country.

They said it could be a “game-changer” for the region’s economy, creating 10,000 jobs during the construction phase and 900 permanent jobs once the power station is operational, according to evidence heard by the committee.

But major obstacles still remain in the way of securing capital investment for the project.

Rising costs and a failure to reach a financial agreement with the UK government led to the formerly Hitachi-led development being suspended in January 2019.

The cancellation caused shock and disappointment throughout the local community and sparked concerns over the UK’s renewable energy agenda.

The continued ownership of the site by Hitachi’s UK subsidiary Horizon Nuclear Power is seen as a further barrier to progress, and the committee called on the government to encourage the company to sell it or join other developers to enable a future development to proceed.

Mr Crabb said: “Over the last couple of decades Wylfa has been in a state of limbo. 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. We must see concrete action on addressing these issues before the next general election, otherwise the uncertainty about the project will increase.”