Wylfa, on Anglesey, also known as Ynys Mon, has been chosen as the site for the UK’s first small modular reactor nuclear power station, the UK government has confirmed.
Officials estimate the site in north Wales will support hundreds of full-time jobs, as well as 3,000 jobs in the local economy at the height of construction.
Work on the site is due to commence in 2026 with an initial programme involving three reactors. The location has the capacity to accommodate as many as eight small modular power stations in the longer term.
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Sky News understands ministers weighed up Oldbury in Gloucestershire as a possible site before ultimately deciding on Anglesey.
The project will be run by the publicly owned company Great British Energy-Nuclear and is supported by a UK government investment of £2.5bn.
Rolls-Royce SMR is set to design the UK’s first small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), pending final contracts, which are expected to be signed later this year.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Britain was once a world-leader in nuclear power, but years of neglect and inertia has meant places like Anglesey have been let down and left behind.”
He added: “We’re using all the tools in our armoury – cutting red tape, changing planning laws, and backing growth – to deliver the country’s first SMR in North Wales.”
The site is projected to supply electricity for three million homes – more than twice the number of homes in Wales. It is hoped the Wylfa reactors will start supplying power to the grid from the mid-2030s.
Eluned Morgan, the first minister of Wales, said: “This is the moment Ynys Mon and the whole of Wales has been waiting for.”
She added: “New nuclear is a step into the future, with secure jobs and secure energy guaranteed for the next generation. We have been pressing the case at every opportunity for Wylfa’s incredible benefits as a site, and I warmly welcome this major decision to invest in northwest Wales. Wales is once again leading the way.”
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Small modular reactors are compact nuclear power stations, built as prefabricated units for on‑site installation, with the aim of being constructed more quickly than sites like Hinkley Point C.
Nuclear power is not new to the Welsh island. A station was first constructed in the 1960s and began generating electricity in 1971. The two reactors operated for decades before being shut down. Reactor 2 was decommissioned in 2012, followed by Reactor 1 in 2015.
Efforts to revive nuclear generation at the site have also been made before. In 2021, proposals to build a new plant were abandoned under the previous UK government.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru leader and MS for Ynys Mon, welcomed the investment, but aired caution over previous false hope.
He said: “Today’s announcement is significant for people on Ynys Mon and across Wales. It reflects years of hard work by both the Plaid Cymru-led Anglesey County Council and Llinos Medi – both as the current MP and former council leader.
“Since I was elected over 12 years ago, the future of the Wylfa site has remained a live issue on Ynys Mon. Whilst we’ve learnt from past experience that we need assurances now that this plan will actually be delivered, there’s no doubt that there’s a real opportunity here that we have to take advantage of.”
He added that his priority is “to ensure that the voices and interests of communities on Ynys Mon are represented at every step”, and that he has “always taken the view that we must make the most of the economic growth and job opportunities for young people that come with a new development at Wylfa”, while mitigating “the challenges” that such projects bring.
“The Welsh government also has a crucial role to play in these discussions. I want to make sure that Welsh government has real input, with Welsh interests placed at the heart of the development,” he concluded.
