N-PLANT SITE PLANS TO CONTINUE DESPITE HITACHI MOVE:
Horizon said it will carry on with the Wylfa Newydd DCO
HORIZON Nuclear Power will press on with activities to secure planning permission for Wylfa Newydd despite putting the project on hold last month.
Parent company Hitachi dealt an economic blow to the island on January 17 when they announced they would halt work on the nuclear plant.
It came after they failed to reach a mutually acceptable funding deal with the UK Government.
But now in a move that gives some hope to plans to eventually revive the £12bn scheme Horizon has confirmed it will finish activities related to the examination of its main planning permission, the Development Consent Order (DCO).
The decision, which comes after consultation with the Planning Inspectorate and key local and national stakeholders, is intended to support a timely restart of the project, should other crucial conditions around the need for a new funding and financing model be met.
Anthony Webb, executive director, Safety, Licensing & Quality, at Horizon, said: “Completing this phase of the DCO does not change the overall decision to suspend wider activities but it will help give the best chance of a restart for the project at Wylfa Newydd, which remains the premier nuclear new build site in the UK.
“We’d like to thank all our stakeholders for their strong support of Wylfa Newydd, including the conclusion of the DCO activities.”
The Secretary of State for Wales Alan Cairns came to Anglesey last month after the bombshell news and said one of his aims was to gain Horizon and Hitachi’s commitment towards the Development Consent Order process.
The DCO was submitted to planners last summer and is the key planning permission needed to enable the project to go ahead.