2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:41 pm on 21 January 2020.

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Photo of David Rowlands David Rowlands UKIP 2:41, 21 January 2020

Could the Minister make a statement regarding the siting of small modular reactors in north Wales? We understand that the consortium led by Rolls Royce is considering building small modular reactors, with Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd tipped as a prime target. We also thought that there were plans to site one on the Wylfa facility on Anglesey and reports seemed to confirm that. But a statement from Horizon Nuclear Power has sought to make it clear that this is not correct. They say, 

'There are no plans to deploy a Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor at Wylfa Newydd site and recent media stories reporting this are not correct.'

Could the Minister comment on this statement? 

They added:

'Activity on the Horizon project is currently suspended, but we're working hard to establish the conditions for a restart using our tried and tested reactor design, which has already cleared the UK regulators' assessment process.'

They said that there is a

'planning application to deliver two of these reactors—providing enough clean power for over five million homes and a multi-billion pound investment to the region.'

Can the Minister give a clear understanding as to the position with both these sites?