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For more than 50 years the nuclear industry has been a bedrock of the Welsh economy, providing high quality jobs in civil nuclear operations and decommissioning.

Trawsfynydd and Wylfa A, located in the North of Wales, generated low-carbon electricity for a combined 70 years but with both stations shut down, the focus has shifted towards the future of nuclear power in Wales.

Released this week, the Welsh Affairs Committee report into this subject focuses on Wylfa Newydd and the potential of a small modular reactor (SMR) in the region.

Wylfa Newydd, Wales’s first new nuclear station for almost fifty years will provide a huge economic benefit throughout construction, operations and decommissioning - a 100 year programme of work.

The multi-billion pound construction project, sited next to Wylfa A will create up to 850 permanent jobs during operations and for the majority of the build 4,000 workers will be on site, potentially reaching between 8,000 and 10,000 workers during peak periods.

These jobs will not only draw inward investment into the region but retain skills and knowledge and economic security for those already in the area.

Horizon Nuclear Power, the company behind the Wylfa Newydd development are currently working with businesses in the region to maximise their involvement in the project and with schools to develop the required skills.

All to ensure local communities benefit directly as well as indirectly from the new power station.

Horizon have set out ambitions for approximately 60% of the projects value to be spent in Wales and the rest of the UK.

As a pioneer of nuclear technologies, the UK nuclear supply chain has a rich heritage and as the trade body we will be pushing developers in the UK to maximise content from capable home grown contractors and suppliers.

Nuclear power has been a part of the UK’s energy mix since 1956 and today supplies about 20% of all the country’s electricity needs. But with all but one of the UK’s fifteen nuclear reactors due to close by 2030 (coupled with the 24GW of capacity which has already gone offline since the turn of the decade) the UK urgently needs new power stations.

The Welsh Affairs Committee recognises nuclear as a, “secure and reliable source of low-carbon power”, and it is those qualities which make it an essential part of the future mix.

The UK can only combat the effects of climate change and air pollution if nuclear power stays on the grid.

No source of energy is a silver bullet solution but nuclear’s baseload characteristic, meaning it can supply continuous low carbon electricity to the grid is the ideal complement for intermittent renewables and flexible CCGT.

(Image: Matthew Horwood)

In fact, the hard economic facts and jobs statistics often swallow up the main purpose of Wylfa Newydd, but the site will generate 2.7GW of electricity, enough to power five millions homes across Wales and England.

As part of a wider 16GW new build programme, not least Horizon Nuclear Power’s supplementary project at Oldbury in Gloucestershire, Wylfa Newydd will help keep Welsh lights on.

The Select Committee is rightly focused on costs while recognising that nuclear provides, “value for money for a secure and reliable source of low-carbon power.”

The strike price for the electricity generated at Wylfa Newydd is still not known but Horizon have been clear “we can deliver at a fair and acceptable price.”

As I said in the evidence the Nuclear Industry Association submitted to the Committee, the strike price agreed for Hinkley Point C already shows nuclear is cost competitive with other low carbon technologies, but it must remain good value for businesses and householders who pay their electricity bills.

That is why it is right that for the report to conclude, “The taxpayer will be protected from excessive costs, as the risk of the investment is placed on the developer.”

The contract for difference mechanism, which includes the strike price will protect consumers from energy prices which within the course of the last five years, have been as high as £104.64/MWh.

Looking beyond Wylfa Newydd, the report states “It is clear that Trawsfynydd would be an ideal site for a first-of-its-kind SMR”, because of the “availability of cooling water and the grid connections.”

Modular in build, SMRs can be manufactured in factory before complete components are transported to site for final assembly. Their compact size could allow for greater flexibility and the potential to be deployed quickly.

However, the Government is only at the first stages of finding a UK SMR to be deployed on these shores and then exported around the word. The priority must remain the current new build programme, including Wylfa Newydd.

SMRs have a potentially significant role to play in complementing large scale nuclear and other low-carbon technologies in a balanced energy mix, and represent a huge potential opportunity for UK industry.

The future of nuclear power in Wales is bright. Wylfa Newydd will protect jobs in the immediate future, create high-value long lasting careers, boost skills in the region and secure economic prosperity on the island of Anglesey for another century.

Trawsfynydd could become the home for a new and exciting technology which has the potential to be exported around the world, putting Wales back at the heart of the global nuclear industry, providing secure reliable, low carbon power for all of our futures.