US joint venture behind N-plant scheme revival
MORE details have emerged of a bid by a US consortium to revive the Wylfa Newydd project on Anglesey.
It was reported in September that American energy firm Westinghouse were interested in the site following the withdrawal of Hitachi from the development.
A planning decision on Wylfa Newydd was deferred until New Year’s Eve so that talks could continue.
Now the Financial Times has reported that the interest is from a joint venture by Westinghouse, Southern Company, an electricity utility, and US engineering group Bechtel.
Horizon Nuclear Power had previously appointed Bechtel as project management contractor for the scheme before Hitachi withdrew funding.
Westinghouse were beaten by Hitachi in a bidding war for the Wylfa site in 2012.
Its AP1000 nuclear power plant design has successfully completed review by UK regulators.
The US consortium’s approach to the government comes as prime minister Boris Johnson
prepares to give a speech setting out a “10 point plan” of how the country proposes to meet the 2050 Carbon Neutral goal.
The Financial Times reported that in a letter to UK business secretary Alok Sharma, the US consortium partners said that their prior knowledge of the site “could be leveraged to accelerate an AP1000 plant project at Wylfa as well as other sites across the UK”.
Any deal would be dependent
on the UK government introducing a new funding model for nuclear projects in Britain.
The consortium would also have to negotiate the purchase of the site with Hitachi, who had spent more than £2bn on the project before pulling out.
Ynys Môn MP Virginia Crosbie said: “It is clear we are going to need more nuclear to meet the Government’s Net Zero target by 2050, and Ynys Môn has the best new build site in the UK.
“Horizon and the local community have already put an enormous amount of work into Wylfa Newydd, meaning it could quite easily be picked up and taken forward with new project partners. I am working with all levels of local and National partners to make that happen.
“An energy partnership with the US would be a powerful symbol and is a unique opportunity to strengthen ties and continue strategic relations.”