2014 Wylfa Extension Target Still Possible

by John Roberts
(Wales)

Wylfa nuclear power station on Anglesey could continue to generate electricity up to 2014, according to site manager Greg Evans.

The island power plant was recently included in a shortlist by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) as a potential location for the UK's new nuclear build programme.

Mr Evans told the BBC that Wylfa has enough Magnox fuel to keep going from between 2012 and 2014.

And recently Prime Minister Gordon Brown on a visit to Sellafield highlighted the potential of Wylfa for creating thousands of new construction jobs on Anglesey.

Current plans are for the Anglesey nuclear plant to close in 2010 for defuelling, and in 2012 for site decommissioning to begin.

This statement is of course potentially excellent news for the nearby Anglesey Aluminium smelter at Holyhead, which has a special electricity supply contract with Wylfa, and where 500 jobs are at risk if the plant closes in September.

So there is a possible scenario where Wylfa A could get an extension to 2014, the aluminium smelter at Holyhead gets a competitive electricity contract and a construction of a new nuclear power station begins in the near future.

There would be plant operator and engineering jobs at the existing plant as well as thousands of construction and design jobs for the new reactor.

And there would still be the work required for decommissioning, only that it would start about 4 years later than planned.

Editor: recently the Department of Energy and Climate Change agreed to allow Wylfa to
continue operating until the end of 2010.

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Comments for 2014 Wylfa Extension Target Still Possible

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Feb 26, 2009

Reactor Safety
by: Anonymous

Can't remember the last time I saw Dylan inspecting the reactors, but rest assured they are inspected regularly by the staff and, more importantly, by inspectors from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, by now a branch of the Health & Safety Executive.

They take their role very seriously. If there was any suggestion of a possibility of a safety issue, they would shut the reactor down.

And yes, ALL of the high level waste goes to Sellafield.

As at Trawsfynydd, the Intermediate-Level Waste will be safely and securely retrieved, packaged and stored appropriately on site until a National Repository for the waste becomes available.

You can find out loads of stuff on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority website - nda.gov.uk
Search for 'Repository' to see the latest.

Feb 26, 2009

safety wylfa reactor
by: Steve

I saw PAWB spokesman Dylan Morgan speaking on the news about the risks of leakages due to weaknesses in the reactor structure.

Is this what the Health and Safety Executive need to check? And what is some guy called Huw Richards saying about needing to leave radioactive waste at Wylfa for 100 years?

I thought most of the high level waste already went to Sellafield.

Feb 26, 2009

Wylfa Fuel
by: Wil Bach

Correct, Springfields has closed. However, there is enough fuel available to extend generation for two to three years beyond 2010 subject to Regulatory approval. So it is still possible to defuel and return 'the stuff' to Sellafield before the cut off date.
:o)
When the fuel is all used, that's it.

Nothing's changed except the possibility to keep going past 2010.

Feb 25, 2009

What about Springfields?
by: Anonymous

I thought that Springfields near Preston, where the Magnox fuel was fabricated, had now closed, and that the NDA had looked at an extension but it was considered economically unfeasible.

So what's changed?

And as for the back-end, that is the nuclear waste, isn't there a problem of a time limit for sending this stuff to Sellafield because of some requirement to close down the unit dealing with this material?

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