Welsh Members of Parliament have expressed their concerns over the future of nuclear energy developments in Wales. On Wednesday, the Welsh Affairs Committee, which consists of MPs from various parties in Wales, called on ministers to act on their commitment by pushing ahead with their plans with Wylfa nuclear power station on Anglesey.
In the committee's report, the MPs said that they had welcomed the UK Government's ambition that nuclear energy is to meet up a quarter of UK electricity demand by 2050. Over the course of the committee's inquiry, both the Energy Minister and interim-Chair of Great British Nuclear referenced Wylfa as being an "ideal site" for a new nuclear power station.
The committee said that they were of the view that new nuclear could be a "game-changer" for the north Wales economy. However, the report found that there were "major obstacles" before Wylfa could be home to a gigawatt-scale nuclear power station.
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In the report, the committee said that no financial agreement had been made on how to fund Wylfa Newydd. They also expressed concerns over land ownership at Wylfa, which posed a further barrier to progress with plans.
Located west of Cemaes Bay on the island, Wylfa pumped electricity into millions of homes for 44 years until it was decommissioned at the end of 2015. For some time time, long-proposed plans for a new nuclear power station known as Wylfa Newydd were simmering under the surface.
The £13bn project had been hailed by some as crucial to the economic development of Ynys Môn, with the ability to bring up to 9,000 jobs into the area. But proposals were dogged by delays and uncertainty for nearly a decade, with Hitachi suspending work on the project in January 2019 as funding negotiations with the UK Government had "hit an impasse", according to the Japanese corporation.
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By September 2020, plans for Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant had been scrapped as Hitachi had withdrawn from the project. But a year later, there was hope yet as Rolls-Royce announced they were developing small modular reactors (SMR) in November 2021, with sites such as Wylfa and Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd subsequently being shortlisted as SMR sites a year later.
According to the Welsh Affairs Committee, evidence showed that a new nuclear power station at Wylfa could support 10,000 jobs during the construction phase and 900 permanent jobs once the power station was operational. With many of the jobs being highly-skilled and long-term, the committee was calling for further development of skills and supply chains, especially during a time where UK was facing skills shortage.
As a result, the committee was additionally calling for a collaboration between the UK and Welsh governments, as well as the sector, to overcome this challenge. The committee's report also considered small modular reactors (SMRs), but as they were still going through a development phase, the committee concluded that "they should be pursued in tandem with gigawatt-scale reactors". It also noted that there were opportunities to develop SMRs at Trawsfynydd, which could further benefit north Wales.
But various campaigning groups have opposed plans to develop nuclear energy in Wales over the years, such as PAWB, CADNO, CND Cymru and Cymdeithas y Cymod (Fellowship of Reconciliation). All groups have been calling for investment in renewable energy rather than nuclear energy.
Coinciding with the report, the Welsh Affairs Committee Chair, Stephen Crabb MP said: "Over the last couple of decades Wylfa has been in a state of limbo. Local people have been enthusiastic about the potential investment to the area only to have been left disappointed when Hitachi pulled out of the Wylfa Newydd project.
"We cannot allow the same to happen again. Despite the positive policy changes and stronger rhetoric from ministers about nuclear, a new power station at Wylfa is still far from certain. Important obstacles remain on financing which is limiting private sector investment, and on the issue of land ownership which is preventing a new developer coming in. We must see concrete action on addressing these issues before the next general election, otherwise the uncertainty about the project will increase.
"A gigawatt-scale nuclear energy project at Wylfa would be a game-changer for the north Wales economy. The enormous investment would illustrate levelling-up in action, creating well-paid, high-skilled jobs, and we would be a step closer to energy independence. I urge ministers to finally give a nuclear energy project at Wylfa the green light."
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