Work begins in Wales on UK's first small modular reactor nuclear power station

Work begins on nuclear power station that promises 8,000 jobsJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleOscar EdwardsBBC WalesReutersWylfa's last reactor was closed down in 2015 after first being built in the 1960sWork has begun on a new nuclear power station that will bring 8,000 new jobs, the UK government has announced.Ministers have chosen Wylfa on Anglesey as the site after signing a £2.5bn partnership with Rolls-Royce to build it last year.The company claimed that the project will create 3,000 jobs local to the Wylfa site and an additional 5,000 jobs nationally.Tom Greatrex, Nuclear Industry Association chief executive, said the move would pave the way for three small modular reactors – the UK's first – to be built at the site.SMRs are manufactured in a factory in modules before being assembled on-site.It is claimed the three units together will supply enough electricity to power the equivalent of around 3m homes for more than 60 years.Greatrex called it "a historic step for clean power, industrial growth and skilled jobs in Wales"."Wylfa is a very special site with unique strengths, and the sector stands ready to help make the country's first SMR fleet a success, putting Britain at the forefront of new nuclear development," he said.Wylfa nuclear plans expected to get go-ahead in daysIt is claimed the three units together will supply enough electricity to power the equivalent of around 3m homes for more than 60 years.Wylfa is an old nuclear power station off the coast of Anglesey, in north west Wales.It was built in the 1960s and first began generating electricity in 1971, employing thousands of workers.In 2015, Wylfa's last reactor was closed down and it began the long process of being decommissioned, ending 44 years of operations at the site.Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce SMR chief executive, said the deal is an example of the UK government's "golden age of new nuclear being delivered successfully with British...