Government chooses north Wales site for first Small Modular Reactor plant

The government has announced the UK’s first Small Modular Reactor (SMR) power plant will be built at Wylfa on Anglesey.

Work on the project, which is backed by £2.5bn of public funding is expected to start on site next year.

The project will be led by the government’s nuclear energy body Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) while the reactors have been designed by Rolls-Royce SMR.

The government said the reactors will deliver power for around three million homes and support 3,000 jobs at “peak construction”

Unlike conventional reactors, SMRs are smaller and made in factories, which the government hopes could enable quicker and cheaper delivery.

The initial Wylfa project will be for three SMR units but GBE-N believes the site could potentially host up to eight.

The ambition is for Wylfa’s small modular reactors to be supplying power to the grid from mid-2030. The Wylfa site previously hosted a conventional nuclear power plant built in the 1960s, which was shut down in 2015.

The decision to grant Rolls-Royce the contracts to build the SMRs, rather than American firm Westinghouse Electric Company, was criticised by Warren Stephen, the US Ambassador to the UK.

He said: “We are extremely disappointed by this decision, not least because there are cheaper, faster, and already-approved options to provide clean, safe energy at this same location.”

Simon Bowen, chair of GBE-N, said: “This is a historic moment for the UK and is another momentous step in realising Britain’s potential in leading the way on nuclear energy.

“These first SMRs at Wylfa will lay the groundwork for a fleet-based approach to nuclear development, strengthening the UK’s energy independence and bringing long-term investment to the local economy.”