Hitachi suspends nuclear new build in England and Wales

Today’s announcement follows speculation that Hitachi would put its nuclear development plans on hold in England and Wales after failing to negotiate a deal with the government on financing the projects.

Wylfa Newydd nuclear plant on Anglesey in North Wales and Oldbury on Severn in South Gloucestershire were being developed by Horizon Nuclear Power, which was acquired by Hitachi in 2012. The company had planned to develop at least 5,800MW of new nuclear power across the sites.

Duncan Hawthorne, CEO of Horizon Nuclear Power said: “We have made very strong progress on all aspects of the project’s development, including the UK design of our tried and tested reactor, supply chain development and especially the building of a very capable organisation of talented and committed people.

“We have been in close discussions with the UK government, in cooperation with the government of Japan, on the financing and associated commercial arrangements for our project for some years now.  I am very sorry to say that despite the best efforts of everyone involved we’ve not been able to reach an agreement to the satisfaction of all concerned.