According to the Telegraph last night
"The list of areas earmarked for power stations to be built by 2025, according to sources close to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is: Bradwell in Essex, Hartlepool in County Durham, Heysham 2 in Lancashire, Hinkley Point in Somerset, Oldbury in South Gloucestershire, Sellafield in Cumbria, Sizewell C in Suffolk and Wylfa Head on Anglesey".
As I have said before, this could mean that there is a great opportunity for Wales to become a real centre of expertise in this sector, and it is now up to the Welsh Assembly Government to ensure that European Structural Funding can be used effectively to help build up value added projects for the new power station. For example, helping to create an energy technology park around the new development and ensuring that the skilled workforce needed for the power station and its construction are sourced locally are just two simple examples on how the project could benefit the Anglesey economy.
I fully expect WAG to announce a detailed strategy for supporting the Wylfa B development and how it will benefit the local economy over the next few months.
Whilst Anglesey will be celebrating, some in South Wales will be in a very different mood, if the Independent is to be believed.
According to a report out today, "Chris Huhne, the Secretary of State for Energy, will tomorrow jettison the world's largest tidal energy project, rather than make the taxpayer foot an estimated bill of £10bn to £30bn for the untested technology".
I am sure there will be those who will be outraged at this decision but, as the Independent comment section states, "a realistic, economically hard-headed green strategy is right to discard tidal power in favour of the "holy trinity" of low-carbon energy: nuclear, clean coal and wind".
The battle now is to ensure that Wales is in a position to take advantage of government policy in these three areas. Certainly, North Wales could be reaping an economic bonanza in terms of nuclear and wind but it is now imperative that South Wales fully participates in any plans for clean coal technology.
Comments
The barrage should be supported if nuclear is being given the ok
Get the money from the world bank like other third world countries do
"It is for private sector energy companies to construct, operate and decommission new nuclear plants".
Surely if there is a strong economic and financial case for the barrage, then private companies could do the same for that project?
Its not just the energy -tourism at the barrage would be a premium product
Sheep in Wales are still affected by movement restrictions following Chernobyl. The reservoirs in Wales still contain radioactive particles in the sludge at the bottom of the reservoirs. The Irish Sea is still the most radioactive sea in the world.
Who will underwrite the private sector companies bringing forward the new nuclear stations in the event of a failure or the far more likely terrorist atttack ? Or will we remain uncompensated because, like the banks, the government will ensure it has(very) limited liability for something brought forward by the private sector for 'national' interests - and the private sector will quickly go bankrupt in the event of a problem. Those of us living the shadow of Wylfa B who know people who currently work at Wylfa know that nuclear power is not safe and that we are being held to ransom by the lack of employment in the area and by politics which seek to 'sell' immediate opportunities and downplay longer term risks.If nuclear energy was safe all the new power stations would be built on the side of the Thames or the Mersey - where demand is greatest.