New photo Hitachi scraps plans for Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station in Wales

Plans for a £20bn new nuclear power station have been suspended, delivering a huge blow to the industry.

Japanese firm Hitachi announced it was not continuing with work already under way at Wylfa on Anglesey in North Wales.

This announcement follows an earlier decision by fellow Japanese company Toshiba to abandon plans for a nuclear power station in Cumbria

In today's announcement, Hitachi said it had made 'strong progress' on the project, but had not been able to reach agreement on financing and associated commercial arrangements.

But Hitachi's fund-raising efforts have been deadlocked at home while its request for additional investment from the British government has been shelved with London consumed by Brexit. 

Japanese firm Hitachi has suspended plans for a muliti-billion pound nuclear power station in Anglesey, north Wales, claiming they failed to reach agreement on financing and associated commercial arrangements for the Wylfa project

The British government signed an agreement with Hitachi for the Wyfla power station in Tregele, Anglesey on October 23, 2013

Some 9,000 people were expected to work on the construction of the two nuclear reactors planned for the site. 

However, according to the BBC, rising construction costs were part of the reason to suspend their plans. 

A Number 10 spokesman said any deal between the company and the Government would have to provide good value for money for the taxpayer and the consumer. 

However, despite the major setback, Downing Street insisted nuclear power was still part of the government's energy policy.  

Former Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones speaking ahead of the decision claimed the deal was placed in jeopardy by the Government's preoccupation with Brexit and the inability to handle any other policy.  

Former Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy Ed Davey said: ‘Japanese businesses have warned about Brexit’s economic consequences since the 2016 referendum, so this latest setback to the Conservatives’ energy policy is not a surprise.

‘The UK will face an energy crunch in the next decade and fall behind on climate change targets if the Government continues to sit on its hands.’

He claimed the Government should look towards new technology, renewables and tidal lagoons instead of nuclear power.

The power plant was due to be operational in the mid 2020s. The company claimed they will lose around £2.1bn in expenses and a further £2.1bn in 'extraordinary losses' by today's decision. 

Duncan Hawthorne, chief executive of Hitachi's nuclear business, Horizon Nuclear Power, said: 'We have made very strong progress on all aspects of the project's development, including the UK design of our tried and tested reactor, supply chain development and especially the building of a very capable organisation of talented and committed people.

'We have been in close discussions with the UK Government, in co-operation with the government of Japan, on the financing and associated commercial arrangements for our project for some years now. I am very sorry to say that, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, we've not been able to reach an agreement to the satisfaction of all concerned.'

Hitachi said it will also suspend work on another site, in Oldbury in Gloucestershire, 'until a solution can be found'.

'In the meantime, we will take steps to reduce our presence but keep the option to resume development in future,' said Mr Hawthorne.

'We will begin consultation on the implications immediately with our staff who have shown extraordinary talent, resilience and determination to take this complex and exciting project to this stage.

'We will also engage closely with the many international and UK-based stakeholders who have strongly supported the project's development, especially our lead host community of Anglesey in Wales, represented by the Isle of Anglesey County Council and Welsh Government, and the key representatives around Oldbury.'

A Business Department spokesman said: 'As the Business Secretary set out in June, any deal needs to represent value for money and be the right one for UK consumers and taxpayers.

'Despite extensive negotiations and hard work by all sides, the Government and Hitachi are unable to reach agreement to proceed at this stage.

'This Government is committed to the nuclear sector, giving the go-ahead to the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C, investing £200 million through our recent sector, which includes millions for advanced nuclear technologies.

'We are also reviewing alternative funding models for future nuclear projects and will update on these findings in summer 2019.'

Hitachi's move follows a decision by Toshiba not to go ahead with a nuclear power station at Moorside in Cumbria.

Justin Bowden, national officer of the GMB union, said: 'Hitachi's announcement, coming so soon after the Moorside fiasco, raises the very real prospect of a UK energy crisis.

Last year, Toshiba decided against proceeding with a proposed nuclear power station in Moorside, Cumbria after it ran into several difficulties

'As coal is taken out of the equation in the next few years and the existing nuclear fleet reaches the end of its natural life after 50 years, decisions are already long overdue for construction to be completed in time and not leave the country at risk of power cuts or reliant on imported electricity, much of it from unreliable regimes.

'While the Government has had its head up its proverbial backside over Brexit, vital matters like guaranteeing the country's future energy supply appear to have gone by the wayside.'

Both Greenpeace and CND welcomed today's decision. 

Doug Parr, chief scientist for Greenpeace UK, said: 'Hitachi's confirmation that no solution has been found for its UK nuclear programme tells you all you need to know about the economics of nuclear power.

'In the meantime renewable energy costs, especially offshore wind and solar, have plunged dramatically, while new smart technologies including storage have arrived on the scene.

'A clever move now would be for the Government to accept that the nuclear bet didn't pay off, stop holding back renewables and have an urgent rethink about the future of UK energy.' 

Sara Medi Jones, acting general secretary of CND, said: 'Today's decision is good news because it opens the door to investment in the renewable technologies of the future, and to leave behind dirty and dangerous nuclear power.

'Hitachi's decision proves once again that there isn't an economic case for new nuclear, certainly not when renewables like offshore wind are cheaper sources of energy.'

Anglesey council leader, councillor Llinos Medi, expressed her 'profound disappointment and concern' over the decision.

However, she hoped agreement could be reached between Hitachi, and the Governments of Japan and the UK, to enable the project to proceed.

Cllr Medi said : 'I am in regular contact with Duncan Hawthorne, the Horizon chief executive. The council continues to work closely with the Welsh Government Minister, Ken Skates, in pressing the case with the UK Government forthis delay to be overcome so we can secure much needed well-paid jobs and business opportunities for years to come.

'Despite this, my main concern is the immediate impact on local men and women whose employment is at risk as a consequence of this suspension, especially those at the Wylfa Newydd site in North Anglesey.'

Major projects and economic development portfolio holder, Cllr Carwyn Jones, added : 'Wylfa remains the UK's best site for new nuclear build and we remain a willing host community. These are critical factors, which have been acknowledged by senior Hitachi executives during face-to-face meetings.

'As a council, we will leave no stone unturned in working with Horizon, their Hitachi parent company and both the UK and Welsh Governments to secure at the earliest opportunity positive and satisfactory outcomes for all concerned. We remain firmly committed to a new development at Wylfa.'

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News Pictures Hitachi scraps plans for Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station in Wales

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