Trawsfynydd could power the future

TRAWSFYNYDD was a source of nuclear energy for just over a quarter of a century and hopes are high that it could play a key role in the next chapter of electricity generation.

Breakthroughs in renewable technology are exciting, and rightly, command great attention. If we can harness tidal, wind and solar energy we can free ourselves from our dependence on (a) fossil fuel and (b) imports from unstable countries with unsavoury regimes.

Some experts argue there is a role for a new generation of smallscale nuclear reactors in the energy mix of the near future. Essentially, these would provide power when there is no wind and little sunshine.

There is interest at different levels of government in ensuring that Trawsfynydd is the home to a Small Modular Reactor (SMR).

As today’s Policy Exchange report points out, our demand for electricity may be about to escalate.

There will be good reasons to cheer when cars are no longer powered by polluting fossil fuels. But a country of electrically driven vehicles will demand even more from the National Grid.

There is an important and urgent debate to be had about the rise to the clean energy challenge, right at the time when many ageing power stations are approaching the time for decommissioning or demolition.

Nuclear energy will remain highly controversial given the extreme costs and high risks associated with the disposal of waste. Many people will argue with sound logic that the best way to secure a predictable energy supply is to pursue projects such as the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon; this exciting proposal promises to provide power as reliable as the tides, and the model could be replicated at Cardiff, Newport and Colwyn Bay.

The scale and urgency of Britain’s demand for energy is such that advocates of new reactors will argue that this technology can provide part of the solution to the challenge of keeping the country’s lights on. The case for SMRs deserves fair consideration, especially when the economic opportunities for communities such as Trawsfynydd are compelling.

In a Britain where too many of our highly paid, high-skilled jobs are concentrated around a few English cities, the energy industry gives engineers and other specialists the opportunity to work in areas of spectacular beauty. The Trawsfynydd power station was unique as the only one in the UK not to be located on the coast.

Opponents to any scheme also deserve a fair hearing. Local communities should demand assurances that the technology is tested and safe; taxpayers must also be satisfied that any propoals offer value for money.

But it is fascinating to see the goodwill towards the idea of new nuclear here, with the UK government saying it “recognises the advantages that Trawsfynydd could have”.

A Wales that exports low-carbon power to the rest of the world could be home to a workforce and economy that crackles with energy.