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Westinghouse lobbies for site in Wales as Starmer backs nuclear renaissance

Westinghouse lobbies for site in Wales as Starmer backs nuclear renaissance US nuclear giant plans to build major nuclear power plant in Wales

Matt Oliver, Industry Editor

A US energy giant is in talks with Downing Street to build a major power plant off the
coast of Wales as Sir Keir Starmer throws his support behind a nuclear
renaissance in Britain. Westinghouse, which is also pursuing a US nuclear
expansion under Donald Trump, is understood to have presented plans for at
least two large reactors at Wylfa, in the Isle of Anglesey. It is lobbying
for the Welsh site to be kept in reserve for the project – which could
power several million homes – as the Government considers whether to put
mini nuclear plants there instead.

State-owned South Korean energy giant
Kepco was previously interested in the site but is said to have dropped the
plans after settling a global legal dispute with Westinghouse. Wylfa, where
a now decommissioned nuclear plant generated power until 2015, is seen as
attractive thanks to its ample space and favourable geology. The
Westinghouse plant would be similar in size to Hinkley Point C, in
Somerset, and Sizewell C, in Suffolk, which will use technology provided by
French nuclear giant EDF and come online in the 2030s.

In discussions with government officials, Westinghouse has claimed that a plant at Wylfa using its AP1000 reactors could also come online by the mid-2030s and for just a
fraction of the cost. An offer submitted by the company in February, which
was revised just weeks before Rachel Reeves unveiled her spending review,
proposes two reactors initially, with an option for another two later.

The discussions have surfaced as officials are separately negotiating a final
deal with Rolls-Royce to build the first small modular reactors (SMRs)
after the Derby-based company won a design competition. A location has not
been chosen but Wylfa is seen as one potential site alongside
Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire. Both are government-owned and Rolls
has said either would be suitable for its needs. But Westinghouse has
argued that Wylfa – regarded by the nuclear industry as the best site in
the country – is more suited to a large project.

The company is also understood to be interested in building SMRs elsewhere in the UK including at Moorside, Cumbria, which was recently made available for development by
the Government.

 Telegraph 18th June 2025, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/06/18/us-nuclear-giant-in-talks-with-no10-build-major-power-plant/

June 20, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK