Anglesey Council leader calls for ‘mature discussion’ on nuclear power in Plaid Cymru
The leader of Isle of Anglesey County Council has called for a “mature discussion” within Plaid Cymru on nuclear power.
Cllr Llinos Medi has spoken out against her party’s policy, which is to oppose the development of nuclear power stations in Wales.
She argued that nuclear energy was needed “now more than ever” because electricity costs are “going up” and that “we’re running out of electricity production fast”.
Her intervention in the nuclear debate comes after Rolls Royce announced in November of last year that they would be developing new nuclear power technology after securing more than £450m from UK Government and investors.
The Trawsfynydd site in Gwynedd and Wylfa site near Cemaes on Anglesey are considered as possible locations to build the small nuclear power stations according to reports.
Nuclear power faces fierce opposition within Plaid Cymru as well as from campaigners PAWB (People Against Wylfa B).
Speaking with broadcaster Guto Harri on current affairs series Y Byd yn ei Le, on S4C, Llinos Medi said: “I’m in favour of developing nuclear energy on the Wylfa site – a lot of party members on Anglesey have been promoting this site, so it’s not something new for Plaid Cymru members on the island.
“What’s missing is the conversation and understanding on the need to develop nuclear energy on Anglesey and creating that electricity certainty for the future.”
‘Must have it’
She added: “We need it and we must have it. If Plaid Cymru were in government, that’s the discussion they would have to have. They would then have to conduct that discussion. We need certainty for the future, electricity certainty more than ever. We know that costs are going up. People can’t afford heating their homes and keeping their light on.
“We’re running out of electricity production fast, and I don’t think society understands how close we are. My duty since becoming the leader of this council is to the the best for the Isle of Anglesey.
“I’m a member of Plaid Cymru and I’m loyal to Plaid Cymru, but I also know what my duty is to this island. I wouldn’t sacrifice the party and I wouldn’t sacrifice the people of Anglesey. What I would expect is a mature discussion in order to come to a sensible conclusion.”
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Nuclear power is not cost effective and what do you do with the radioactive waste??
The legacy of coal extraction shows us that England exploits and in the end leaves us to pick up the pieces for an open ended period.
Nuclear power to date has left us with a similar legacy but with a millennial life span or more
We must have control here in Wales of any future economic activity in our country and that requires total independence and nothing less
No!. Wales is the 5th biggest exporter of energy on the planet. We do not need to poison ourselves with radioactivity. ☢
I strongly oppose nuclear power on both safety and long-term environmental grounds. However, I recognize there are others who take a different view. All political parties need to find a way to accommodate different strands of opinion to some extent. I hope that Plaid will succeed in doing this on the nuclear issue – not by sidestepping the issue, but be fostering rational debate.
I fear that Llinos has not done her homework. If she does the arithmetic she would find that insulating single wall dwellings and the like would yield more in permanent energy savings than all that money will generate in ‘new’ electricity. It will also make a lot more local jobs than heavy high tech construction contracted to international companies. Of course the trouble will probably be that the money will be put up by Westminster so it will be ‘sorted out’ with little or no real input from those of us who live here.
We are making good progress with renewable energy but not fast enough. I’m sure over the next 20 to 30 years we will see better efficiency. Personally I believe nuclear energy should be considered for at least one lifespan, especially when there are already contaminated sites such as Wylfa.
Energy is a problem for all of us, fuel poverty is an issue for many in Wales and I suspect will only get worse in the relatively short term.
Alas the hazardous waste nuclear produces lasts for many lifespans christian ☹️. Greedy private utilities are causing fuel poverty – they should be brought into public ownership or run on a not for profit basis like dwr cymru.
Firstly Wales doesnt have an energy supply problem – wales already produces twice as much energy as it needs. Decommissioning sellafield cost the uk govt in the region of £70 billion pounds. The cost of decommissoning any such nuclear power plant at wylfa when its life ends would likely bankrupt a future independent wales. Then theres the matter of the poisonous waste it would produce needing to be stored underground somewhere in wales for thousands of years. And its simply not true either to claim that nuclear is needed to meet the world’s future energy needs – greenpeace recently published… Read more »
Fair comment. However the wind and solar solutions as presently configured do not provide a reliable assured level of supply. The power of lobbyists is evident in the proliferation of on shore wind turbines in particular with ownership most commonly vested in major corporates who spend money on lobbying. There are other renewable technologies that merit more backing and the oldest of them all, hydro power lends itself to community led ventures free from globalist interventions.
An independent Cymru could address this, a Cymru under the heel of Westminster can not
Need some credible and objective science and stats here. Try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ3DvcXd3mM Totally neutral, informative, excellent. Dealt with technicalities and statistics and costings – no confirmation bias! For what its worth, he sort of came to the conclusion that you might get RR nuclear generators just for security for the 20% which is the base load/20% bit which renewables will struggle with. If so, Wales could offer to build these RR reactors and make a profit. Out of engineering – remember that? And if we build a few for our own needs, exported some electricity like EDF and made a profit… Read more »
Look how other small nations like Uruguay, Costa Rica and Denmark have successfully developed their renewable sector Jonathan – absolutely no reason why Wales couldnt do same if we had the powers to do so https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/11-countries-leading-the-charge-on-renewable-energy/
Given that Wales is a coastal nation there really should be a great deal more investment in tidal based power generation and wave power generation. I am not sure how far the technology for the latter has got since the Edinburgh research unit was closed by Thatcher. I expect that the Japanese or some other far east country has swallowed all that research and moved on to profitable commercial implementation. Anybody got detals on that?
This is a mature discussion we don’t need nuclear power when we are independent as we will have more renewable energy than we need, we need storage, that is where you spend the money
She confessing that Plaid Mon is losing this debate just dragging false hopes for years, what a failure this bunch has been.
Plaid Cymru have got to start fighting for a new wales no more second homes in wales 🏴 incomers will not vote for Plaid Cymru 🏴 stop being little Englanders and be proud to be welsh start fighting for your children and grandchildren future in wales 🏴 don’t be afraid of upsetting the English incomers it’s time for a new wales 🏴
Most of the anti-comments below show exactly why we need a “mature” discussion without the knee-jerk reactions.
The easiest argument to dispose of is Wales’s supposed self-sufficiency in energy. It isn’t about light bulbs and cookers. Every item someone in Wales uses had energy bound up in its manufacture and delivery. Welsh people are net consumers of energy.
The need to produce more hydrocarbon free energy transcends “English ownership”- that is petty and ignores the fact that most green energy facilities Wales are foreign owned. It is a global problem.
” …….ignores the fact that most green energy facilities Wales are foreign owned. It is a global problem.” You may see it like that but many of us don’t. The fact that most green facilities are foreign owned is a scandal but it’s a direct result of the subservient unimaginative posture of the Bay regime. We cannot expect much better from Westminster as it has a lengthy heritage of playing footsie with large globalist corporates for way too long. However the Labour regime in Wales has replicated the affection for doing deals with the “big guys” and has fed them funds… Read more »
A good discussion on this theme. However, nobody has pointed out that we all, as consumers of energy, ought to do our best to reduce usage and/or increase our own production. If you can afford it you really should get to work on raising the thermal efficiency of the house in which you live. There is no shortage of advice to be had, especially from CAT near Machynlleth. Solar PV with battery storage can help with ‘load shifting’ allowing generators to use their daily PV power in the evening and morning when the PV is not generating. Solar thermal for… Read more »
Whilst there may be new nuclear energy generation systems in development that are smaller scale and designed to be safer which need consideration, Fukushima should be lesson not brushed aside. With the clear consequences of sea level rise accelerating, building new reactors on existing coastal sites such as Wlyfa is reckless. Plaid on Ynys Mon are the ones who need a mature discussion and admit that the real reason is vote chasing.. A fools errand because many Plaid Voters do not appreciate the duplicity and fence sitting that local politicians do, rather than grow a set and towing the party… Read more »