The UK government has announced that Wylfa is its preferred site for the UK’s third mega-nuclear power station and will now launch talks with global energy firms to explore its construction.

A gigawatt-scale nuclear energy plant in Wylfa – an island off the coast of north Wales – has been in the works for a number of years with the project stuck in limbo since 2019, when Hitachi abandoned the project.

The site was already home to a nuclear power station that operated for over 40 years until decommissioning began in 2015. The government is now considering replacing this plant by building two evolutionary power reactors (EPRs), which are based on a pressurised water design.

While there are a number of other potential sites that could host civil nuclear projects, following today’s announcement, the Wylfa site has been earmarked as the government’s preferred site.

The Wylfa plant is part of plans to help the government’s ambition for the UK to meet up to a quarter of its electricity needs with...