North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to provide a Statement regarding concerns over Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant on Anglesey, in the week its main backer, Hitachi, is expected to announce that it will either back out or suspend all work on the £20bn plant.
Hitachi-Horizon has been in formal negotiations with the UK Government since June regarding financing of the Wylfa Newydd Project and Mr Isherwood is concerned that “conflicting agendas within the Welsh Government” could jeopardise things.
Speaking in yesterday’s Business Statement, Mr Isherwood said:
“Could we have an Oral Statement, preferably involving the First Minister in the Statement, regarding the concerns over Wylfa Newydd if the speculation is borne out later this week, in a decision by Hitachi either to not go ahead, or simply to put proposals on hold?
“We've had a Written Statement in which the Minister for Economy and Transport rightly says that Wylfa Newydd is a major project with potentially significant benefits to Anglesey, North Wales and the UK. But we know that, in the past, the new First Minister has himself personally opposed nuclear power, and we know that shortly after he took on his new role, the Welsh Government called in plans to prepare the 740 acre area in Anglesey to build Wylfa Newydd, about which Hitachi's subsidiary, Horizon, said it disagreed with the Welsh Government's reasoning.
“I am very well advised that that is one of the factors that have led to Hitachi considering the situation currently. This is too important to North Wales, Wales and the UK to simply be dealt with by a Written Statement, and I call for a proper Oral Statement in Assembly time, here, so the full Assembly can contribute.”
The Finance Minister, Rebecca Evans, replied: “On the issue of Wylfa Newydd, I know that a Written Statement has just gone out from the Minister for the Economy. There'll be important decisions to be made later this week, so, I'm sure that the Government will explore how best and most appropriately to respond to those decisions that are made later this week.”
Mr Isherwood added: “Any conflicting agendas within Mark Drakeford’s Welsh Government must not be allowed to damage economic regeneration on Anglesey and across North Wales”.