UK Selects Wylfa as Site for Britain’s First Small Modular Reactors
Wylfa, on the coast of Anglesey, has hosted nuclear power generation since the 1960s and will now become the UK’s first SMR site. Photo Credit: Great British Energy-Nuclear
Key Points
- The UK government has confirmed Wylfa on Anglesey, North Wales as the site for the country’s first small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power station, announced on 13 November 2025.
- Three Rolls-Royce SMR units will be built at Wylfa initially, expected to deliver power for the equivalent of around 3 million homes. Great British Energy-Nuclear assesses the site could ultimately host up to eight reactors.
- The project is backed by over £2.5 billion in public funding and is expected to support up to 3,000 jobs in the local community at peak construction, with an average of almost 8,000 highly skilled, well-paid jobs across the UK per year during the build programme.
- Great British Energy-Nuclear (GBE-N) — the UK government’s nuclear delivery body — will partner with Rolls-Royce SMR, subject to final government approvals and contract signature expected later this year, with GBE-N starting site activity in 2026.
- Power generation from Wylfa’s SMRs is targeted from the mid-2030s, and the project forms part of a broader UK ambition to develop a fleet of SMRs including an export programme beginning in Czechia.
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Wylfa Confirmed: Three Units, Up to Eight Potential
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed on 13 November 2025 that Wylfa, on the North Wales coast of Anglesey (Ynys Môn), has been selected to host the UK’s first small modular reactor nuclear power station. The initial project will comprise three SMR units designed by Rolls-Royce SMR, with Great British Energy-Nuclear assessing the site as capable of hosting up to eight mini-reactors in total.
The project is expected to deliver power for the equivalent of around 3 million homes from the initial three-unit deployment. Each Rolls-Royce SMR unit, built using a high degree of factory manufacturing and modular assembly, is designed to generate enough stable, low-carbon electricity to power a million homes for at least 60 years. The ambition is for Wylfa’s SMRs to be supplying power to the grid from the mid-2030s.
Wylfa has a strong nuclear heritage dating back to the 1960s, and its selection is described by the government as righting the wrongs of previous failures to bring new nuclear power to North Wales. GBE-N will begin activity on the site in 2026. Final government approvals and contract signature with Rolls-Royce SMR are expected later this year.
What is a Small Modular Reactor (SMR)?
Small modular reactors are nuclear power plants that are smaller and quicker to build than traditional large-scale nuclear stations. Unlike conventional reactors built largely on-site, SMRs utilise factory manufacturing and modular assembly, which is intended to reduce construction time, cost overruns, and disruption to local communities. The Rolls-Royce SMR design is the UK’s first domestic nuclear technology in more than 20 years.
£2.5 Billion Investment and Thousands of Local Jobs
The government has committed over £2.5 billion in funding for the UK’s first SMR programme, confirmed as part of the Spending Review. At peak construction, the Wylfa project is expected to support up to 3,000 good jobs in the local community. Across the full UK build programme, Rolls-Royce SMR states the project will support an average of almost 8,000 highly skilled, well-paid jobs across the UK per year.
The investment builds on a series of existing commitments to the North Wales economy, including an Investment Zone to boost advanced manufacturing, the Anglesey Freeport, and critical rail upgrades to the North Wales mainline. The government has separately confirmed major investment in the Sizewell C large-scale nuclear project, which will provide power for the equivalent of 6 million homes and 10,000 jobs.
Rolls-Royce SMR Chief Executive Chris Cholerton described the Wylfa announcement as the first step in a 100-year commitment to clean energy, innovation, and community partnership at the site.
“We are honoured to have the opportunity to establish our UK fleet programme with an initial three units at the Wylfa site. Today’s announcement marks the first step in what will be a 100-year commitment to clean energy, innovation, and community partnership at Wylfa. This is a tremendous opportunity not just for North Wales but for the whole country, as we establish an enduring supply chain that will enable our fleet deployment in the UK and a large export programme, starting in Czechia.”— Chris Cholerton, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce SMR (13 November 2025)
Fleet Approach and International Export Ambitions
The Wylfa deployment is explicitly framed as the first site in a fleet-based approach to SMR development in the UK. Rolls-Royce SMR was selected as the preferred bidder by GBE-N in June 2025, following a fair and open competition. The UK and Czechia have signed a deal to cooperate on civil nuclear, and Rolls-Royce SMR and Czechia’s largest public company, ČEZ, agreed to partner on SMRs, with ČEZ acquiring a 20% stake in Rolls-Royce SMR.
Alongside the Wylfa siting announcement, GBE-N was also tasked with identifying suitable sites that could potentially host a further large-scale reactor project, beyond the current deployments at Hinkley Point C and the recently confirmed Sizewell C. GBE-N will report back by Autumn 2026 on potential sites to inform future decisions in the next Spending Review. The Energy Secretary has requested this assessment include sites across the United Kingdom, including Scotland.
Great British Energy-Nuclear also owns the Oldbury nuclear site in Gloucestershire, which it notes has potential for new nuclear, including to support privately-led projects being developed by the nuclear industry. The UK has also recently agreed a major regulatory cooperation agreement with the United States to make it quicker for companies to build new nuclear power stations in both countries.