January will be remembered as a harrowing month for Britain's nuclear sector, despite news that Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy is pushing ahead with its nuclear plans. Centrica pulled out of a nuclear new-build scheme in the UK; the proposed underground waste storage site in Cumbria fell at the first hurdle; a report highlighted the escalating cost of storing nuclear waste; and, to cap it all, a recruitment firm pointed to a yawning skills shortage in the sector. Plans to build up to six new nuclear power stations took a step forward when the government announced an official assessment of the reactor design proposed for UK sites. Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy plans to develop new reactors at Wylfa in Anglesey, North Wales, and Oldbury in Gloucestershire following its acquisition of Horizon Nuclear Power.
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