New Nuclear Projects: Wylfa Debate
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Catherine Fookes
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New Nuclear Projects: Wylfa
Catherine Fookes Excerpts(1 day, 14 hours ago)
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Llinos Medi (Ynys Môn) (PC)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the development of new nuclear projects at Wylfa.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I am leading today’s debate with one simple message to the Government: Wylfa is the best nuclear site in Europe and must be prioritised for new nuclear energy projects. We know that UK energy demand will likely double by 2050, as we develop the new technologies of the future and grow our economy. To reach our energy needs, nuclear power will play a part in the energy mix. It is a source of consistent baseload power, needed to cut our reliance on fossil fuels, improve energy security and keep energy bills down.
However, the last nuclear power station built in the UK was in 1995, and only one nuclear power plant is currently under construction, at Hinkley Point C. Wylfa is in prime position to help meet our energy needs by producing clean, reliable home-grown power for Wales and the rest of the UK, and it will last for 60 years. As Trade Unionists for Safe Nuclear Energy says:
“New nuclear development at Wylfa is imperative to retain and grow our incredible civil nuclear workforce. Sizewell C should not be the last Gigawatt project in the UK and Wylfa would create thousands of well-paid, highly skilled and unionised local jobs whilst supporting UK energy security by generating critical clean baseload power”.
How did we get to the situation where Wylfa has been overlooked? For context, it is worth recounting the history of nuclear generation at Wylfa. Two Magnox reactors were constructed at the site and came online in 1971. The Wylfa nuclear power station then generated electricity for 44 years. In 2012, both reactors reached the end of their operating life and were shut down by 2015. Plans for a successor project, Wylfa Newydd, were first proposed in 2009. Those plans were paused in 2019 and scrapped in 2021 after Hitachi withdrew, following a failure to reach a funding agreement with the then Conservative UK Government.
In March 2024, during the spring Budget, the then Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt), announced that the Wylfa and Oldbury sites would be purchased from Hitachi for £160 million. Since the current Government came to power last year, I have raised the issue of Wylfa several times in Parliament. I have been told by the Government that,
“we will work with Great British Nuclear to assess options for new nuclear at Wylfa”,
but there has been no further clarity on the project since.
The lack of clarity and urgency from the Government on Wylfa is all the more confusing, given that it is an excellent site for a new nuclear project.
Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)
I thank the hon. Lady for securing this debate. I welcome her shedding light on the terrible legacy of 14 years of Conservatives who did nothing to invest in Wylfa, but while this Government get to work on delivering the greatest upgrade to our energy system in decades, I believe Plaid Cymru is playing politics here. Is it not the case that the party’s previous leader came out against Wylfa and called new nuclear “the wrong answer” for Wales?