Last week's poll: Hitachi pull-out - where now for UK nuclear?

News

The decision by Hitachi to suspend new nuclear power stations in Britain represents a potentially critical blow to the UK’s energy strategy.

Plans to develop the UK’s next generation of nuclear power stations are in disarray with one project scrapped and two suspended.

On January 17, 2019, Hitachi announced it was suspending projects in Anglesey and Gloucestershire after failing to negotiate a deal with the government on financing projects at Wylfa and Oldbury.

Whilst these projects have the potential to be revived, another project in Cumbria came to a halt in November 2018 when Toshiba wound up NuGen, the company set up to build up to 3.6GW on land in Moorside, West Cumbria at a cost of around £10bn.

Of the eight UK sites identified for nuclear new build in 2011, only EDF’s Hinkley Point C in Somerset is under construction, prompting us to ask if big nuclear has a future in Britain.

Of the 654 respondents, 70 per cent were split equally between those who think big nuclear is essential (and that government should modify its funding policy); and those who see SMRs as the future for new nuclear.

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.  

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox

Register
Or continue by

Signing in with your registered email address