A nuclear boss involved in trying to get Wylfa Newydd over the line has now been appointed to lead the development of a Traws B and other potential job creation projects on that location.
Welsh Government wants to regenerate the Trawsfynydd site in Gwynedd as a potential location for small modular reactors(SMRs) and other ventures like a research reactor producing vital medical isotopes.
Rolls-Royce is hoping to secure a number of sites for the roll out of a fleet of SMRs with potential locations at existing nuclear sites across the country, such as Trawsfynydd and Wylfa on Anglesey.
Economy minister Vaughan Gething last year announced a six month contract for Mike Tynan as interim Chief Executive of Cwmni Egino, which has been set up to lead the regeneration of the Traws site.
Now Alan Raymant, chief operating officer for Horizon Nuclear Power between 2009 and 2016, has been appointed as the longer term Chief Executive for Cwmni Egino.
Mr Gething said: “Members will recall that the purpose of Cwmni Egino is to bring forward potential new projects including the deployment of small nuclear reactors to generate electricity and wider options to maximise the opportunity for the site.
“I previously reported that Mike Tynan had been appointed as Cwmni Egino’s interim Chief Executive.
“Mr Tynan agreed to a 6 month contract during which he has put in place firm foundations for the company and initiated discussions with the landowners on potential land lease arrangements for the future.
“I can now announce that following a competitive recruitment process, Alan Raymant has been appointed as the longer term Chief Executive for Cwmni Egino and that he will begin work in his new role on 1 March 2022.
“Mr Raymant was most recently the CEO on the Bradwell B project in Essex and was Chief Operating Officer for Horizon Nuclear Power between 2009 and 2016.
“He brings a wealth of experience and is a highly regarded executive within the sector.”
He added: “Mr Raymant joins Cwmni Egino at the same time as the Cwmni Egino Board is strengthened with the appointment of two non-executive directors who between them, have many years of experience within the nuclear and wider energy sector.
“Robert Davies, most recently, the Chief Operating Officer of CGN UK and Kevin McCullough, a former Chair of Horizon Nuclear Power and the Welsh Government’s Energy and Environment Sector Panel, join Dr John Idris Jones as new Board members with immediate effect.
“I expect to further strengthen and diversify the Board’s membership with a second round of appointments later in the spring.”
SMRs are seen as a way of driving a new generation of nuclear in the UK as well as helping with levelling-up.
At last Tuesday’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) questions in the House of Commons Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies highlighted the benefits of a factory to manufacture components for the SMRs also being located in North Wales.
He asked Energy Minister Greg Hands: “Does he agree that the high-skilled, long-term jobs in such factories could significantly help to level up north Wales and contribute to both net zero and a global Britain that exports more around the world?”
The Minister said: “As the current Energy Minister and the former Exports Minister, I agree entirely with my hon. Friend on the export potential of the Rolls-Royce SMR technology, which has the potential to provide levelling-up jobs precisely in areas such as North Wales, as he so ably urges.”
