Over the Horizon: The rise and fall of nuclear new build in the United Kingdom -

September 2016 was supposed to herald the dawn of a new era for the nuclear power industry in the United Kingdom. The UK Government had confirmed its support for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project and EDF, the project’s lead developer, had taken its final investment decision. What’s more, Hitachi’s Horizon project at Wylfa, Anglesey and Toshiba’s NuGen project, at Moorside, Cumbria were both under active development, with the potential for further large nuclear projects at Oldbury and Sizewell C.

Today, things stand in stark contrast. In November 2018, following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Toshiba’s nuclear arm, Westinghouse, and months of failed attempts to find new investors for the project, Toshiba took the decision to wind-up NuGen and cease the development of the Moorside project. Now, Hitachi has reached the same conclusion with respect to Wylfa – leaving its second prospective project at Oldbury looking doomed. Sizewell C, being jointly developed by EDF and China General Nuclear, remains the only large project under active development.