UK doubles down on nuclear power plans

London is stepping up its talks with Hitachi over the proposed Wylfa Newydd plant

Nuclear power stations are eye-wateringly expensive to build and court controversy. But the UK government is determined enough to ensure nuclear is part of its future low-carbon energy mix that it is considering investing state funds in a new plant in north Wales to be built by a subsidiary of Japan's Hitachi. Discussions over the Wylfa Newydd project on the island of Anglesey have become bogged down over recent months by increasing cost estimates and doubts among Hitachi's executives—and the project's potential backers in Japan—over whether the high financial risks make the project viable. On 4 June, UK energy minister Greg Clark confirmed that detailed talks with Hitachi were now under wa