The price of nuclear energy generated in Anglesey could be lower than expected

On May 31 the FT reported that, the guaranteed “strike price” for electricity produced by a new nuclear plant in Wales will be around £15 per megawatt hour lower than the deal negotiated for Hinkley Point C[1].

The two nuclear reactors at Wylfa could generate around 2.9GW of electricity, enough to power about 5 million homes. Wylfa is being developed by Horizon Nuclear Power, a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. According to the FT, full cost estimates for the development are estimated at about £16bn although the estimating exercise will not be completed until the end of the year.

Although the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) says that discussions were "commercially sensitive and ongoing", it has been widely reported that the Government is considering making a substantial investment into the plant. This decision marks a reversal of a previous policy not to commit public funds to the construction of new nuclear reactors. The government has been quoted as saying that it wants nuclear power to be delivered at the right price for consumers and taxpayers. Many commentators felt that £92.50 MWh that the government agreed to pay France’s EDF for power from the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station was high enough to make nuclear power an unviable energy source and for the Guardian[2] to call it “…the world’s most expensive power plant.”

This latest news and further focus on Anglesey will be welcomed by regeneration specialists Orthios who are investing in their 213-acre Holyhead site in Anglesey. The Orthios site will accommodate new technology in biomass, wind power and waste products. Adding competitively priced nuclear power to the power generation ecosystem in Anglesey will be good for Wales and both sites will provide more than 1300 jobs. According to Horizon, around 4000 construction jobs will also be needed to build the nuclear plant.

The Orthios site is already permitted for many of the requirements that Wylfa now needs, and as such is in a prime position to benefit from Wylfa’s services, including construction, materials handling, staff centres and logistics.

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[1] FT online 31 May, 2018

[2] The Guardian, 21 December, 2017