Campaigners announce Eisteddfod march against new nuclear power plants planned for Wales
Campaigners from anti-nuclear groups will march the 44 miles from Trawsfynydd to the Eisteddfod at Boduan next month in support of a nuclear free Wales.
The march is being organised by CND Cymru (the Welsh Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament), CADNO (the Society for the Prevention of Everlasting Nuclear Destruction) and PAWB (People against Wylfa B).
The marchers are also supported by Welsh Nuclear Free Local Authorities which oppose plans to redevelop new nuclear plants at Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd and Wylfa in Ynys Mon.
In April 2022 Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to develop 24 gigawatts of nuclear power generating capacity in the UK by 2050.
Both Trawsfynydd and Wylfa have been targeted as potential sites for the new generation of Small Modular Reactors that are under development.
None of the SMR designs being worked on have so far received the necessary licencing approvals to be deployed in the UK, and Rolls-Royce announced last month that they anticipated a minimum delay of six months before their reactors gained approval.
Since April of last year, Welsh anti-nuclear campaigners have also stepped up their activity, with an exhibition highlighting 40 years of nuclear free Wales touring the nation, with rallies held and declarations made at events in Caernarfon and Cardiff.
The march to the Eisteddfod site will take four days and along the way participants will run stalls, distribute leaflets, and host film screenings as part of their protest against new nuclear projects being developed in the north of Wales.
March organiser Sam Bannon from CND Cymru said: “We urge anyone opposed to nuclear power to join us on CND Cymru’s second march against the proposed rollout of small modular nuclear reactors in Cymru.
“In collaboration with People Against Wylfa B (PAWB) and the Society for the Prevention of Everlasting Nuclear Destruction (CADNO), this action will demonstrate our opposition to the rehabilitation of this unsafe, costly, and antiquated form of energy production that distracts from the goal of zero net carbon emissions and contributes directly to the production of nuclear weapons.
“In CND Cymru, we recognise the need for a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels. And so, in showing our opposition to SMR’s, we are also advocating for a green new deal for Cymru. Harnessing the power of our abundant natural resources using truly sustainable means and investing in energy storage technologies, would without any doubt be cheaper, quicker, and safer as well as creating considerably more employment for people in Wales.”
Over budget
NFLA Welsh Forum Chair Councillor Sue Lent added: “Nuclear projects are notorious the world over for being delivered very late and way over budget. Bechtel and Westinghouse have been involved in the development of two new reactors at Vogtle in Georgia. Construction there started in 2009, yet only this year will both reactors come on stream, and the project is being delivered at a cost approaching US$30 billion, over double the original budget.
“Wales has wind and rivers, and a long coastline. Imagine what could done with $30 billion, or £23 billion, if it were invested instead in a national programme to insulate every home in Wales to the highest standard to reduce fuel consumption and energy bills, but also in renewable energy technologies to generate and store clean sustainable electricity from wind turbines, micro hydro-electric schemes, and from wave and tidal power projects, drawing on the natural resources with which our nation is blessed?”
“Instead of nuclear, we want to see investment in Wylfa and Trawsfynydd so they can be transformed into sites of engineering excellence for the development and deployment of renewable technologies and storage solutions.
“Wales can derive a lot more electricity far more quickly and at much less cost, without creating ugly new nuclear power plants that contaminate their environment, operate at risk, and leave a costly legacy of deadly radioactive waste in their wake. Let’s do this – let’s keep Wales nuclear free.”
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This is incredibly stupid. Nuclear energy is a great stepping stone towards renewables.
Utter nonsense. Wales already produces more energy than it uses, in fact we are a net exporter of energy (to england). Wales does not need this (and we certainly do not need the poisonous waste that comes with nuclear power)
Nuclear is the way forward for now at least until renewable have matured to a point they capable energy storage. The real issue is fossil fuels.
Mae peth yw os dyn ni’n rhoi cataniad i un gorsaf niwclea bydd deg o nhw yn fuan. Pob angen yw i rhoi un gorsaf niwclea – bydd e annog nhw i adeiladu mwy a mwy – fel ail gartrefi a Dryweryn, un tro roedd dim ond un ail-gartre a wedyn roedd e cant a cant. Pobl ddim yn newid!
Well done PAWB, CADNO and CND Cymru! Wales already produces more energy than it uses, in fact we are a net exporter of energy (to england). Wales does not need this (and we certainly do not need the poisonous waste that comes with nuclear power and which will have to be stored somewhere in Wales for thousands of years -SMRs actually produce more radioactive waste)
All for nuclear power. We needed more of it decades ago. I think it was nick clegg who was quoted saying we should not make nuclear power stations because they would not come into steam until 2020. We need electricity more than ever. We need lots of it and we want it to be clean. Nuclear all the way. Then we would not need to distroy our beautiful country side with horrid looking wind turbines that kill the birds that reside at the top of the food chain. The deforestation to make room for the wind farms. That require fuel… Read more »