Wylfa was the largest and last of Britain's Magnox stations; generation ceased on 30 December 2015, ending Magnox power in the UK. Defueling finished in September 2019 and Nuclear Restoration Services is now preparing the reactors for care and maintenance.
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Current state
| Status | Active dismantling |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Location | Cemaes, Anglesey, Wales |
| Site | Wylfa |
| Units | Reactor 1, Reactor 2 |
| Unit count | 2 |
| Reactor types | Magnox |
| Owner / licensee | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (site licensee: Nuclear Restoration Services) |
| Decommissioning contractor | Nuclear Restoration Services |
| Strategy | Deferred (SAFSTOR) |
| Final shutdown | 2015-12-30 |
| Decommissioning start | 2019-09 |
| Spent fuel | Defueled by September 2019; 87,890 fuel elements sent to Sellafield for reprocessing. |
Notes
Capacity not captured from sources reviewed.
Timeline
- 1971 — Wylfa began operations. (source)
- 2015-12-30 — Generation ceased, ending Magnox reactor generation in the UK. (source)
- 2019-09 — Defueling was completed. (source)
- 2020 — The NDA announced plans for a continuous reactor decommissioning strategy to bring forward final site clearance. (source)
- 2026-02-26 — ONR introduced a new regulatory approach for the 12 former Magnox sites. (source)
The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. Stated targets appear in the current-state table, never as milestones.
Related sites
- Barsebäck Nuclear Power Plant Active dismantling · Sweden
- Berkeley (Magnox) SAFSTOR · United Kingdom
- Bradwell (Magnox) SAFSTOR · United Kingdom
- Dounreay (DFR and PFR fast reactors) Active dismantling · United Kingdom
- Dresden Unit 1 SAFSTOR · United States
- Dungeness B Fuel removal · United Kingdom
- Hinkley Point B Active dismantling · United Kingdom
- Humboldt Bay Power Plant Unit 3 License terminated · United States
See all 72 sites in the Nuclear Decommissioning Tracker →
Sources
- Wylfa — Office for Nuclear Regulation (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- ONR introduces new regulatory approach for former Magnox nuclear sites — Office for Nuclear Regulation (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- About NRS — NRS Site Stakeholder Groups (primary), checked 2026-10-11