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Financial and environmental uncertainties made UK Planning inspectorate reject Wylfa nuclear project

Nuclear Engineering International 8th Feb 2021The UK Planning inspectorate on 4 February released its report on the WylfaNewydd project on Anglesey for which energy company Horizon – a subsidiaryof Hitachi – had needed approval of the Development Consent Order (DCO)
to allow the project to go ahead.

However, in their 906-page report, the
government appointed planning inspectors recommended that the project
should be rejected, citing a number of expert concerns. The application has
since been withdrawn after Hitachi, decided that the plant was too
expensive to build without government funding, and Horizon subsequently
failed to find any other backers for the project.

On funding, the inspectorate’s report said that “despite the Applicant’s commitment
to continued dialogue with UK Government, there remains “considerable
uncertainty regarding the overall funding for the proposal and the extent
to which the private sector alone can, or is prepared to accept, the
business risk to fund it”.

The planning inspectors’ report said there
was a lack of scientific evidence put forward by developers to demonstrate
that the Arctic and Sandwich tern (seabird) populations around the Cemlyn
Bay area would not be disturbed by construction. There were fears that
these birds would abandon the Bay as a result. It also raised wider
concerns over the general impact on Cemlyn Bay, the Cae Gwyn site of
special scientific interest and Tre’r Gof.

https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsuk-planning-inspectorate-releases-report-on-wylfa-newydd-8502287

February 11, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | Leave a comment