Japan's Hitachi said Monday it was ready to relaunch a nuclear power project in Wales that was put on hold early last year because of wrangling over financing.

The company's Horizon Nuclear subsidiary said it was "continuing to engage with the UK government, and others, on securing the right conditions to support a potential restart for Wylfa Newydd" on Anglesey island off northwest Wales.

"It is too important an opportunity not to deliver, given the benefits it will bring both locally and nationally, and we remain committed to doing all we can to move this transformational project forward," a spokesman said.

Hitachi froze the planned construction of two reactors at the site in January 2019, saying the project was not commercially viable.

The targeted production capacity was nearly three gigawatts or some six percent of Britain's electricity needs.

Contacts with the UK government have intensified recently after a hiatus caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Hitachi is awaiting the publication of the government's latest energy strategy in the coming months, which could include new financing models for the nuclear industry.

The company is expected to make a final decision after that.

The Japanese firm's reassertion of interest comes as ties between London and Beijing are strained over the involvement of Chinese telecoms provider Huawei in Britain's 5G network.

Lawmakers are now asking questions about China's China General Nuclear Power (CGN) in several projects, including the development with France's EDF of two new reactors at Hinkley Point.

Hinkley Point, in Somerset, western England, is currently the only nuclear project under construction.

Britain's nuclear power plants built in the last century have either closed or are coming to the end of their lifespan.

The government wants to maintain the 20 percent of electricity it gets from the nuclear sector, particularly with its aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

jbo/phz/ar/gd

EDF - ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE

CGN Power

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Belarus fuels first nuclear plant ahead of presidential poll
Minsk (AFP) Aug 7, 2020
Belarus on Friday announced it had loaded fuel into its Russian-built nuclear power station as strongman Alexander Lukashenko prepares to contest a presidential poll on Sunday. The country is launching its first ever nuclear plant to gain cheaper energy despite suffering severe radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and against strong opposition from neighbouring Lithuania. The energy ministry announced the plant's physical launch before it begins generating energy as Lukashenko stands in a ... read more