UK government offers Hitachi £13.3bn to develop nuclear projects in Wales

The British government has offered to provide ¥2 trillion (£13.3bn) in financial support to build nuclear reactors for Hitachi-owned Horizon Nuclear Power plant in Wales.

The government is focusing on creating new reactors as the current ones, which supply Britain with more than 20 per cent of its power, are becoming outdated and some will go offline by 2025.

This offer of support in loans will cover a large portion of the cost of Hitachi’s Wylfa Newydd project in Wales, according to Japanese news source Kyodo.

It is unknown when Hitachi will give its official answer whether to accept the offer, but a source told Kyodo that it might be already next week.

Read more: First Hitachi TransPennine trains to reach UK in two months’ time

There has been some internal debate on the funding offer as some MPs are opposed to give such a large amount of money to the nuclear project.

A spokesman for Britain’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy told Reuters: “Discussions are commercially sensitive and ongoing, we have no further details at this time.”

The Wylfa Newydd site is one if the two places Hitachi’s Horizon is planning to develop nuclear reactors, the second being Oldbury-on-Severn in England.

Concerns have been raised about Britain’s power plants becoming too old and not able to produce as much energy as expected after cracks were found in the core of the reactor at the Hunterston B plant in Scotland.

Hitachi bought Horizon Nuclear Power in November 2012 for £696m after wanting to expand abroad after the 2011 Fukushima crisis created a difficult nuclear market in Japan.

Read more: Hitachi held talks with the chancellor over a deal for the Horizon plant