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Reuters
Wylfa's last reactor was closed down in 2015 after first being built in the 1960s
Work has begun on a new nuclear power station that will bring 8,000 new jobs, 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, welcomed the news, calling Wylfa a location with "unique strengths" that has the potential to put Britain at the "forefront of new nuclear development".
He said it would pave the way for a fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs) at the site.
The contract sees work starting on three SMRs - the UK's first - at Wylfa as part of plans to meet the UK's growing electricity demands and create thousands of skilled jobs.
SMRs are manufactured in a factory in modules before being assembled on-site.
It is claimed the three units together will supply enough electricity to power the equivalent of around 3m homes for more than 60 years.
Wylfa is an old nuclear power station off the coast of Anglesey, in north west Wales.
It was built in the 1960s and first began generating electricity in 1971, employing thousands of workers.
In 2015, Wylfa's last reactor was closed down and it began the long process of being decommissioned, ending 44 years of operations at the site.
Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce SMR chief executive, said the deal is an example of the UK government's "golden age of new nuclear being delivered successfully with British technology".
He added that the deal has brought "certainty" to the UK SMR programme after signing an early works agreement last year enabling the launch of site work in Czechia.
Rolls-Royce
A first-of-its-kind nuclear power station is to be built on Anglesey
Greatrex said it was a "historic step" for clean power, industrial growth and skilled jobs in Wales.
"It marks the beginning of a significant and exciting new phase for the project and the people of Ynys Môn," he added.
Greatrex said the project will bring "significant investment" to the area and across Britain, securing the "UK's long-term supply of reliable, low-carbon power."
Ed Miliband, UK government Energy Secretary, called it a "major milestone" for Britain's energy security.
He added: "Our clean energy mission is the only route to getting off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels and take back control of our energy independence."
