Wylfa power station can begin that promises 8,000 new jobs

Work to begin building a new nuclear power station that will bring 8,000 new jobs has been approved, 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. It is claimed the three units will supply enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 3 million homes for more than 60 years. SMRs are manufactured in a factory in modules before being assembled on-site. Greatrex called it "a historic step for clean power, industrial growth and skilled jobs in Wales", saying Wylfa was a "very special site with unique strengths". "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 added. The project is still subject to a final investment decision, which is expected by the turn of the decade, but after all