The UK Government has announced will buy two sites for new nuclear development from the Japanese company Hitachi in England and Wales (UK) for GBP160m (€188m). The first site, located in Wylfa on the island of Anglesey (Wales), is already home to a nuclear power plant that is currently being decommissioned. Hitachi abandoned plans to develop another nuclear project in the area in 2019 because of rising costs. The second site is located in the town of Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire, England.
The land purchase raises expectations for proposals for new nuclear power plants to be developed on the sites. However, no official decision has yet been taken on future projects.
Rising costs have also plagues other UK nuclear projects currently being developed. In January 2024, the French utility EDF announced a delay and a rise in project cost for the 3.26 GW Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant. The same month, the UK’s Department for Energy Security announced that it would invest a further GBP1.3bn (€1.5bn) of government funding for necessary infrastructure work on the 3.2 GW Sizewell C nuclear power plant.