by Graham Black | Wed 06 Feb 2019
Hitachi Pulls The Plug On Uk Nuclear Power
The Hitachi subsidiary Horizon Nuclear Power has stepped away from building nuclear power stations at Wylfa in Anglesey and Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire. It has been reported that it has written off its £2.1 billion investment in the projects, which was likely to create many thousands of construction jobs.
Although the door has been left open to restart negotiations with the UK Government, it is thought unlikely that this will be successful. Although the Government has offered to take up a substantial stake in the projects, a combination of rising costs and a failure to attract sufficient external finance is thought to be the reason behind the decision.
The UK Government had intended to close the remaining coal-fired power generation stations by 2025, mainly to be replaced by nuclear power. This situation now seems totally unrealistic, to the benefit of the UK coal extraction industry.