A planning decision on Wylfa Newydd has been deferred until New Year’s Eve. Japanese multi-national this month announced they were pulling out of funding the £16bn nuclear development on Anglesey. But BEIS Secretary of State Alok Sharma was due to announce if the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the site has been successful. Now it has emerged that Duncan Hawthorne, chief executive officer at Hitachi’s investment vehicle Horizon Nuclear Power, had written to Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) twice in recent days asking for an extension. He said: “Since Hitachi Ltd’s announcement to cease development activities associated with the Wylfa Newydd DCO Project, Horizon has been engaged in discussions with third parties that have expressed an interest in progressing with the development of new nuclear generation at the Wylfa Newydd site in Anglesey, Wales. “These discussions are still at an early stage and it is felt that a short deferral would allow time for Horizon and those interested parties to determine whether, and if so how, the Wylfa Newydd DCO Project could be taken forward in Hitachi Ltd’s absence. US energy giant Westinghouse is “believed” to be reviving its interest in the Wylfa site – after losing out to Hitachi on the deal eight years ago.