Source · Select Committees · Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Rejected
Paragraph: 29
Encourage Hitachi to sell Wylfa Newydd site or join a consortium for future nuclear development.
Recommendation
Given that the land at Wylfa Newydd is owned by Hitachi, it is unclear what the current state of play is at the site. If there is to be new nuclear at Wylfa, the issue of ownership of the land needs to be addressed. We reiterate a recommendation of our predecessor Committee and call on the UK Government to encourage Hitachi to sell the Wylfa Newydd site or take part in a consortium of developers to allow future development.
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the specific recommendation to encourage Hitachi to sell or join a consortium, stating that any decision to sell the Wylfa Newydd site is a commercial one for Hitachi. They confirm ongoing dialogue with site owners and that Great British Nuclear will work on broader access to potential sites, while also developing a new National Policy Statement for future nuclear deployment.
Paragraph Reference:
29
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The Government welcomes Hitachi’s continued stewardship of the Wylfa Newydd site and the effort taken to maintain the site in recent years. While any decision to sell the site is a commercial decision for Hitachi, we continue to have a positive relationship and strong dialogue with all nuclear site owners (as nominated under the 2011 National Policy Statement) and remain in a conversation with them about how to best enable and deliver on the Government’s ambition for up to 24GW of nuclear energy by 2050. Government has established Great British Nuclear (GBN) to drive forward the UK’s new nuclear programme. GBN will be working with Government on access to potential sites for new nuclear projects to achieve our long-term ambition. GBN will also support the Government’s consideration of further large Gigawatt-scale projects to help us deliver on our long-term ambition. However, no decisions have been taken over which technologies future projects will proceed with, or at which sites. Government recognises the desire for a settled policy for new nuclear deployment and will develop a new National Policy Statement (NPS), which will set out the planning policy for deploying new nuclear power stations beyond 2025. The new nuclear NPS will take account of changes in the nuclear landscape since the existing NPS was designated in 2011, including the potential for advanced technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs). Government will consult later this year on a policy for how new nuclear developments could be sited in future.