The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has today announced
the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cwmni
Egino to support their development of a new small scale nuclear
project in North Wales.
The MoU enables the NDA to share information and expertise around
the characteristics of its land at Trawsfynydd, to align the
decommissioning plans and site activities with the new nuclear
project, and to support Cwmni Egino with stakeholder engagement
and developing socio-economic plans.
This follows the announcement earlier this year from BEIS that
the NDA would work alongside stakeholders, including Cwmni Egino,
to enable engagement on potential future nuclear developments in
the UK.
The British energy security strategy published in April this year
made several new commitments to secure, clean, and affordable
British energy for the long term, including delivering new and
advanced nuclear power.
Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility,
, said:
This new working relationship announced today has the potential
to greatly benefit our country’s economy and energy security. It
would ensure more homegrown energy as part of our wider mix, and
contribute to our ambition to be generating 24GW of nuclear
capacity by 2030.
But this will also be of huge benefit to the people living around
Trawsfynydd, who are set to benefit from the skilled jobs this
could create in the coming years.
NDA Chief Executive, David Peattie, said:
We are engaging with several stakeholders to explore potential
uses of our estate, using our capability and expertise to support
the Government in delivering its energy security strategy.
This is an important step, formalising our support to Cwmni
Egino, and enabling the NDA to deliver its mission to safely
decommission our sites and free up the land for future use.
The success of the project at Trawsfynydd will also benefit the
community neighbouring our North Wales site.
The NDA is charged, on behalf of government, with cleaning up the
UK’s earliest nuclear sites safely, securely, and
cost-effectively, with the aim of benefiting local communities
and the environment.
It has a history of engagement and land transfer across its
estate, and currently owns 950 hectares of designated land across
17 nuclear licensed sites.
Cwmni Egino Chief Executive, Alan Raymant, said:
Our relationship with the NDA is critical to the successful
delivery of our vision for the development of new nuclear at
Trawsfynydd.
We’re very pleased that the MoU is now formally in place. We look
forward to working with the NDA as we continue to develop our
proposals which will bring significant benefits to local
communities, as well as help achieve energy security and net zero
targets.
Cwmni Egino is the development company established by Welsh
Government in 2021 to drive future development at the Trawsfynydd
site and to promote regional economic and social regeneration.
Economy Minister said:
The MOU between Cwmni Egino and the NDA is very good news.
We established Cwmni Egino to maximise the potential of the
Trawsfynydd site to benefit the economy of the surrounding
area. I’m pleased to see this further step forward in the
project.
The NDA site at Trawsfynydd is home to a Magnox station which is
being decommissioned by Magnox Ltd, a subsidiary of the NDA. The
NDA also owns land outside the Magnox site boundary which could
be used for a new nuclear development.
Cwmni Egino is currently developing a business proposition for
the development in Trawsfynydd, with a target for construction to
start in 2027.
Any formal commitment of NDA land, or other support, would
require government approval via NDA’s sponsoring department BEIS.
