US energy developer backed by a fund linked to Elon Musk the latest that wants to build nuclear power plant in Wales
A company backed by investor in Elon Musk’s businesses is the latest to say that it wants to build a nuclear power plant in Wales.
Last Energy is now the third company that wants to build nuclear power plants in Wales, having settled on a not yet named site within the country.
They would join a Rolls-Royce led consortium who have mooted Wylfa on Anglesey and Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd as the locations of new modular reactors.
US nuclear company Westinghouse have also put together a consortium with construction group Bechtel to revive plans for two nuclear reactors at Wylfa since Hitachi, a Japanese conglomerate, abandoned their own plans in 2019.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Last Energy’s plans are very similar to those of Rolls-Royce. They want to build a first “mini-nuclear” power plant in Wales by 2025, as part of a plan to spend £1.4bn on 10 reactors by the end of the decade.
Elon Musk, who is the world’s richest person with assets worth an estimated £220bn, said on Twitter last month that he was keen on investing in nuclear energy.
“It is now extremely obvious that Europe should restart dormant nuclear power stations and increase power output of existing ones,” he said. “This is critical to national and international security.
“For those who (mistakenly) think this is a radiation risk, pick what you think is the worst location. I will travel there [and] eat locally grown food on TV. I did this in Japan many years ago, shortly after Fukushima. Radiation risk is much, much lower than most people believe.”
Last Energy met with representatives from the UK Government to discuss the plans last week.
‘Wrong answer’
More nuclear power at Wylfa is not without its critics with campaign groups CADNO and PAWB among the local opposition.
Writing for Nation.Cymru, Dylan Morgan of PAWB (People Against Wylfa B) warned that “nuclear power is a dirty, outdated, dangerous, vastly expensive technology which threatens both human and environmental health”.
“It would also steal much-needed resources from renewable technologies which are cheaper, much quicker to build and more effective to combat the effects of climate change.”
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, whose party currently controls Anglesey Council, also spoke out against nuclear power last week, calling it “the wrong answer” to Wales’ energy needs.
“We do not support nuclear power. It’s the wrong answer. Renewables absolutely is the way to go. And I fear that, you know, nuclear power, very expensive and unnecessary distraction,” he said.
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Is that the same Elon Musk that reinvents things really badly? The same Elon Musk whose company invented the hyperloop that turned out to be a tunnel in Las Vegas? …The same Elon Musk who owns a car company that sells cars beset by glitches? The same Elon Musk that believes cryptocurrency will change the world and wants to go and live on Mars? THAT Elon Musk or some other Elon Musk who isn’t an obviously insane man-baby?
The UK once had a principle – not to build further nuclear plants till we had a system for dealing with nuclear waste. That is surely part of the “sustainable development” principle in the Welsh “constitution”. I was part of the consultation process in the 1990s when there was pressure to find a ‘solution’ for the UK’s nuclear waste, the CoRWM committee was pressurised to say “Deep Geological Disposal” is the solution, when it didn’t exist and could not be proven safe for 100,000 years in UK geology. The USA has given up their Yucca Mountain project, even though that… Read more »
When Wales was exploited for our coal resource Whitehall our serial abuser put out its feelers on the dark net of its day and like vultures they descended to pick our flesh clean leaving only bones. The same I fear is happening again. When Whitehall ears are pricked and England calls, they act. Oh, but that’d differs when Wales cries in pain. We are left wanting & waiting. Nobody comes to our aid. No magic money tree is shook by Whitehall. No sunny Sunak calling in favours from his fellow billionaires, or Boris BritNat tub-thumping stating this investment will benefit… Read more »
Perhaps we should not have chased out the Quakers…rather than invite in countless fraudsters, as we do now…those who take backhanders must be brought to justice…
Indeed. The mistakes of past we cannot change, where we can the present & future.
Amen to that…
I know a Space Port he might like to buy for the price of a by-pass…no spoilers but it is called Llanbedr…
You are working hard to get that deal sorted. Shame the blinkered crew down the Bay just don’t listen.
Too busy buying their next train set…how come the Plaid man for North Wales comes from Gaerfyrddin ! Some things don’t change hd15…
The fact that he comes from Sir Gar seems to be his only redeeming feature ….. !! Sadly it also confirms that not all Sir Gar’s product is open minded just open to any old rubbish that gets trotted out by scamming paper billionaires chasing government handouts.
Seems like the boo boys got it in for us. Must not make comments about certain sacrosanct figures in Welsh politics.
Oh dear now what have I said…
Just been informed by Wiki in the Kitchen that a certain FM comes from said urban paradise…that explains it…
Town boy through & through. Us country boys were, and remain, a better breed altogether !!
Seems like the boo boys got it in for us. Must not make comments about certain sacrosanct figures in Welsh politics.
Elon musk who thinks we need to produce more humans as we don’t gave enough. Or then Musk who pretends to be pro the environment while firing off rockets and crypto. We don’t need nuclear, its not a sensible desicion on so many levels.
Am I right in saying that UK government (made rich by coal) doesn’t want to pick up the bill for making s**g heaps safe? Can we build into any contract for nuclear that safety and security from day one onwards is picked up by the correct parties rather than taking the benefit then passing on this subsequent cost back to Wales?
If we have more nuclear in Wales, let’s do it for the right reasons and put them in the right places. Highly rural areas have no chance of using heat for industrial or domestic heating. They need to be built near, or in, towns, on industrial estates, and then we can use them for district heating
Wouldn’t trust anything that man is even slightly involved with in any way shape of form.
We have plenty of our own energy but they for bid us to use it … why,?
!!!,… clean energy costs more breaks down for someone else to fix go some where else to supply the part you need etc etc etc, coal fires……. Remember them xxxx.