Future Nuclear Plant Plans
A second plant (generally referred to as Wylfa B) has been proposed, in part to provide for the needs of the Anglesey Aluminium smelter located in Holyhead. But the Anglesey Aluminium plant was shut down on 30 September 2009. The company has announced plans for a biomass plant on the site by 2016 for which planning permission has been approved. Wylfa B's proposal has been the subject of much local opposition, led by the group People Against Wylfa B (PAWB – "pawb" is Welsh for "everyone"). Nevertheless, Wylfa continues to provide employment to the local area and electricity to the north of Wales. In March 2006 the local council voted to extend the life of Wylfa A and to support the construction of Wylfa B, citing the potential loss of employment in the smelter works and nuclear station.
Horizon Nuclear Power, an E.ON and RWE joint venture, announced in 2009 intentions to install about 3,000 MWe of new nuclear plant at Wylfa. Horizon is considering building either Areva EPR or Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at a site to the south of the existing Wylfa station.
On 18 October 2010 the British government announced that Wylfa was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations.
In January 2012, three hundred anti-nuclear protestors took to the streets of Llangefni, against plans to build a new nuclear power station at Wylfa. The march was organised by a number of organisations, including Pobl Atal Wylfa B, Greenpeace and Cymdeithas yr Iaith, which are supporting farmer Richard Jones who is in dispute with Horizon.
On 29 March 2012 E.ON and RWE npower announced that their plans to build the new power station had been shelved.
On the 30th of October 2012, it was announced that Hitachi had bought the UK nuclear project from E.On and RWE.. This came as disturbing news to many people as Hitachi built the Fukushima nuclear power station where a major nuclear incident occurred in 2011. In an interview, a spokesman from the anti-nuclear group PAWB said "We don't want a 'Wylfashima' on Ynys Mon".
Read more about this topic: Wylfa Nuclear Power Station
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