Wylfa nuclear power plant
Wylfa nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in United Kingdom with 2 units on record. None is currently operating.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Retired | GCR | MAGNOX | 530 | 1971 |
| Unit 2 | Retired | GCR | MAGNOX | 540 | 1972 |
Unit by unit
Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.
Wylfa nuclear power plant 1 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | MAGNOX |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 530MW |
| Net capacity | 490MW |
| Thermal output | 1,650MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (United Kingdom)100% |
| Operator | Magnox |
| Construction start | 1 Sep 1963 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 1 Nov 1969 |
| Grid connection | 24 Jan 1971 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Nov 1971 |
| Permanent shutdown | 30 Dec 2015 |
Wylfa nuclear power plant 2 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | MAGNOX |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 540MW |
| Net capacity | 490MW |
| Thermal output | 1,920MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (United Kingdom)100% |
| Operator | Magnox |
| Construction start | 1 Sep 1963 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 1 Sep 1970 |
| Grid connection | 21 Jul 1971 |
| Commercial operation | 3 Jan 1972 |
| Permanent shutdown | 25 Apr 2012 |
Wylfa nuclear power plant in context
The 2 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 7.4 to 7.9 years (median 7.6) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1970s is 5.4 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Heysham nuclear power plant (124 km), Hartlepool nuclear power plant (255 km) and Hinkley Point nuclear power plant (262 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | 1963 | 1971 | 7.4 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit 2 | 1963 | 1971 | 7.9 | 5.4 (1970s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heysham nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 124 km | 2.6 |
| Hartlepool nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 255 km | 1.3 |
| Hinkley Point nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 262 km | - |
How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.
| Location | Wales, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53.4161, -4.4808 |
| Elevation | about 20 mabove sea level |
| Setting | On the sea coast, 0.1 km from the water |
| Region | Northern Europe |
| Units by status | Retired: 2 |
Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.
| Owners | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (United Kingdom) |
|---|---|
| Operators | Magnox |
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data