The Central Electricity Generating Board's Magnox power station at Wylfa, was built in 1963 and designed to fit in with the landscape (a comprehensive landscaping scheme was was undertaken in which 100ft high artificial hills were constructed using excavated material). The main station building consisted of two reactor blocks linked by a common services building and the central control room. The fuelling and servicing machines were interchangeable between the reactors. The station used a dry store in which the irradiated fuel was stacked in nests of tubes filled with dry CO2 externally cooled by air. It had a capacity of 840 MW, and was the eighth and last first-generation Magnox station to be built by the CEGB. The station was officially opened in May 1972. Currently (2009) the station is still operational.
Reference: COI photographs and notes, dated c. 1972.
Wylfa Nuclear Power Station generated 'its last spark of electricity' on 30 December 2015. 'After decommissioning ends in 2026, the reactor buildings and stores for the Magnox fuel will be left untouched until they are safe to dismantle. That will be in about 90 years - around 2105.'
Reference: BBC news article entitled 'Wylfa: Countdown to shutdown of nuclear power station' published on 30th December 2015
RCAHMW 4th February 2020
Resources
DownloadTypeSourceDescription
application/pdfHAP - Headland Archaeology Projects ArchiveHeadland Archaeology report no WNBC/01 "Wylfa Newydd Proposed New Nuclear Power Station rock outcrop topographic survey, produced by Headland Archaeology, February 2107.
application/pdfHAP - Headland Archaeology Projects ArchiveHeadland Archaeology report no WNBA/01 entitles " Wylfa Newydd Proposed New Nuclear Power station. Archaeological trial trenching. Post excavation assessment and updated project design. Final" commissioned by CBRE on behalf of Horizon Nuclear Power, March 2018(?)
application/pdfHAP - Headland Archaeology Projects ArchiveWritten scheme of investigation for archaeological trial trenching and archaeological excavation at Wylfa Newydd Proposed New Nuclear Power Station, 2015.
application/pdfGATP - Gwynedd Archaeological Trust Projects ArchiveDigital report for an Archaeological Mitigation for Wylfa Magnox, Ynys Mon. Gwynedd Archaeological Trust project ref. G2698, report no. 1615, produced in December 2021.
