LETTER SUBMITTED BY RICK MILLS IN RESPONSE TO DAVID PHILLIPS'S LETTER IN THE BANGOR & ANGLESEY MAIL, 2006-03-08, P 8, PROPOSING A REPLACEMENT FOR THE WYLFA NUCLEAR POWER STATION

Dear Editor,

I suppose political point scoring is an unavoidable fact of life, but David Phillips’ criticism of Plaid Cymru for deciding to wait for the UK government’s energy review before adopting a standpoint on the future of nuclear energy is misleading.  For two reasons this decision can have no material impact on the future of Anglesey Aluminium.

First, in the view of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) there is no realistic possibility of extending Wylfa’s life beyond 2010 for various technical reasons, not least the fact that the only plant which makes fuel for Wylfa is closing this month.  An early closure date for Wylfa was in fact foreseeable in 2001, when BNFL abandoned the development of “MagRox” fuel as an alternative to the conventional MagNox fuel.

Second, even if the decision were made to build a Wylfa B, it would almost certainly take 12-15 years, i.e. towards 2020, to get the plant approved, built and up to full capacity.

In other words, the nuclear option cannot represent a solution to Anglesey Aluminium’s problems.

While it is possible that a gas-powered plant at Anglesey Aluminium would solve the supply concern, I feel politicians should in particular be looking to fully exploit the recently highlighted opportunities for capturing energy from tidal streams.  This resource exists on our doorstep, has been initially calculated to have the potential to generate 150 MW, and would not entail a legacy of greenhouse gas emissions or radioactive waste.

Last year the NDA estimated the bill for decommissioning UK nuclear sites would be around £56 billion, and many fear that even this will prove an underestimate.  If only such a sum could be spent on energy efficiency and developing the many promising renewable technologies – then we would at last see real progress in efforts to combat climate change.

Sincerely,

Rick Mills

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