Renewable Energy Associations response to Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant statement to Parliament

• Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant funding deal set to be negotiated by Government Ministers
• Hitachi struggling to complete construction of nuclear power plant in Wales without government intervention
• Renewable Energy Association argue government should consider more economical alternative clean energy investments

Commenting on Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark’s update to Parliament on Horizon nuclear project at Wylfa Newydd, Dr Nina Skurupska CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Renewable Energy Association, said:

“The government needs to carefully consider the value for money argument before intervening with significant taxpayer support for the multibillion-pound nuclear power plant at Wylfa Newydd.

“Hitachi’s struggles to fund the project privately represent one of the great challenges facing the nuclear industry, that it is highly complex and costly to design, build, operate and maintain a nuclear power station.

“The costs of renewables are falling all the time whilst the clean technology sector continues to set records for generation, it is much quicker & cheaper to build an energy from waste, solar, wind or biomass plant than continue to pursue nuclear investment. Research shows that in the future the inflexible properties of nuclear will also become a liability to the system rather than an asset as it cannot respond quickly enough to changes in demand and supply on the system.