Environment and Sustainability Committee
Inquiry into Energy Policy and Planning in Wales

EPP 104 – Energy Solutions

Wylfa Power Station

Cemaes Bay

Anglesey

Gwynedd

LL67 0DH

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas                                                                                                 

Chair Welsh Government Energy and Sustainability Committee

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff

CF99 1NA

21^st. September 2011

Dear Sir

Welsh Government Consultation

Thank you for the opportunity to feed in comments to The National Assembly for Wales’ Environment and Sustainability Committee which is undertaking an inquiry into energy policy and planning in Wales.

EnergySolutions is the company which manages the Wylfa and Trawsfynydd magnox sites on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Part of our role is to manage the safe operation and decommissioning of these sites and to support work being done by other agencies to support the communities near these sites when work there comes to an end.

As you are aware electricity generation at Wylfa will cease over the next few years and decommissioning work at Trawsfynydd will come to an end in 2016. This will lead to the loss of some 500 jobs in Meirionnydd and eventually the loss of some 700 jobs in Wylfa.

Nuclear power has an excellent safety record and the new generation of reactors incorporate safety features which have developed from over 50 years of operating experience and learning. These new reactors are being assessed regarding their safety at this moment by independent regulators – the Office of the Nuclear Regulator, Environment Agency and Office of Civil Nuclear Security. The proposed new development at Wylfa  will lead to 60 years of safe low carbon generation and over 800 jobs.

 It is very important for the locality that new investment in low carbon developments are made to provide for the longer term sustainability of these communities. For those developments to happen it is imperative that developers have as much certainty as possible before making investment decisions. This means ensuring clear and timely  processes for dealing with all regulatory matters so that a developer has certainty when relevant permissions will/will not be obtained.

In order to help communities around Wylfa and Trawsfynydd take advantage of possible development opportunities, we ask that the Welsh Government, through your committee ensures that planning process are efficient and timely and support the building of new infrastructure to allow investments to happen and that you support the new nuclear development at Wylfa

Yours sincerely

Site Director

Wylfa & Maentwrog

Power Stations

cc J I Jones, Head of Socio-economic Development