N-PLANT BID MADE
40,000-page plan for Wylfa Newydd submitted... as Govt mulls investment and firm looks to widen road for huge project
HORIZON Nuclear Power has submitted its application to build Wylfa Newydd.
The UK Government announced last Monday it would consider a direct investment in the plant alongside the developer and Japanese government agencies – giving the project a massive boost.
This was welcomed as “fantastic news” by Duncan Hawthorne, chief executive of Horizon, a subsidiary of Hitachi.
Now Horizon has confirmed it has submitted its 41,000-page Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate for permission to build Wylfa Newydd.
The proposal includes 440 documents and more than 400 drawings, all specifying the nuclear power station and associated work the company wants to develop at the Anglesey site and how it plans to carry this out.
In addition to the DCO, Horizon has also submitted key applications for a Marine Licence, Operations Combustion permit, Operations Water Discharge permit and Construction Water Discharge permit from Natural Resources Wales.
Duncan Hawthorne, CEO of Horizon, said: “This is an important day for Horizon. The applications are the product of an enormous amount of work and I’d like to thank the team for all the effort put into the submissions.
“I’d also like to thank our stakeholders and members of the public for their input.”
He added: “As we progress with the next phase of our permit applications, the hard work will continue, and I’m confident we have a great team in place to drive forward our progress.”
Horizon anticipate it will create up to 9,000 jobs at the peak of construction.
With two reactors onsite – generating 2.9GW of power – the plant would also support close to 1,000 jobs during operation, and the company aims to start generating electricity in the mid-2020s.
The company said it has sought to demonstrate that it has developed a robust design and has assessed its environmental impacts across the power station facilities and associated developments and, where possible, has eliminated, reduced or mitigated these impacts.
The Planning Inspectorate now has 28 days to decide whether the DCO application meets the robust standards that will enable it to be accepted for examination.
If this happens, the public and stakeholders will then have the opportunity to view and comment on Horizon’s plans as part of the process. The DCO process takes approximately 17-18 months from submission to determination.
Meanwhile, following the announcement by the Business Secretary, formal negotiations with the UK Government on funding support will start.
Ynys Môn MP Albert Owen has welcomed the positive news.
He said: “It’s about low-carbon energy, about quality jobs, and about the biggest investment in Wales. If we are serious about tackling climate change then we need to be serious about new nuclear as part of a low-carbon energy mix with renewables and also energy efficiency.
“I have worked with the UK Government, Welsh Government and local government on moving this project forward to bring benefits to the local, regional and national level.”
Ben Francis, FSB Wales Policy Chair, said: “We very much welcome the news that the UK Government is to give financial backing to Wylfa Newydd on Anglesey.
“This will give significant cause for celebration among businesses locally which will benefit directly and indirectly from this very sizeable development. We need now to galvanise a more targeted engagement with local businesses so we can generate a clearer picture of how they can become involved in this project and how the right connections can be made to ensure that this project is capitalised on to the fullest extent possible to provide an economic development dividend.”
Unite acting national officer for energy Peter McIntosh said: “We welcome the government’s decision regarding the Wylfa power station as it could create thousands of jobs during its construction, as well as generating highly-skilled employment throughout its operational lifetime.
“This will be a step in the right direction and could be an accelerator for growth generally.
“But the government needs to crack on and make sure that the negotiations are completed in a timely fashion.”