Implications for the Isle of Anglesey of Planned Closure of Wylfa Power Station

The Welsh Assembly Government recognises the potential impact that the proposed closure of Wylfa could have on Anglesey Aluminium Metal Ltd (AAM) and on the Isle of Anglesey more widely. The Assembly Government and the Welsh Development Agency have therefore sought to work proactively with the Isle of Anglesey County Council, the UK Government, the companies involved and other key stakeholders to give early consideration to the potential impacts, and look at how all those with an interest can best work together to help the individuals, organisations and communities that are likely to be affected.
The recent Socio-Economic Impact Assessment report from the consultants, who were  jointly commissioned by the Assembly Government, the WDA, the Isle of Anglesey County Council, Magnox Electric Ltd, AAM and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, represents a useful step in this process. The report contains interesting analysis and possible actions for ameliorating the potential impact, based around harnessing the strengths of the Isle of Anglesey such as the port of Holyhead and the tourism sector, as well as helping Anglesey to play a greater part in the wider North Wales economy.

AAM has always been intrinsically linked with Wylfa Power Station - it began operating in 1971 as a joint venture with Wylfa. AAM is reliant on a constant supply of electricity for its smelting processes - it uses 28% of Wylfa's total generation and around 12% of all power generated in Wales.

The closure date of Wylfa has been known for some time and the Welsh Assembly Government and the WDA have been working with AAM in seeking to identify alternative power options post Wylfa throughout this period. The WDA jointly funded Assessment Studies on a new gas fired combined cycle power station to be located close to the aluminium works, but a range of issues, including costs and timings for new power station build have been major obstacles in taking this further forward.

We strongly support seeking an extension to Wylfa's operating life to allow AAM more time to source an alternative power source. Following discussions between the Assembly Government and the Department of Trade and Industry, the DTI is exploring with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority whether safety and economic grounds exist to review the closure date of Wylfa power station.
   

Meanwhile, the Assembly Government will also be working with the Isle of Anglesey County Council and other stakeholders to develop approaches for addressing issues identified in the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Report.  

In taking work on this forward it will be important to build on the substantial support provided to the area in recent years - for example, in relation to the port of Holyhead.

The port of Holyhead has received a £3.5 million injection of Objective 1 funds towards a £12.3 million project to improve the infrastructure of the Port and help regenerate the town of Holyhead.  As part of the investment Stena Line Ports will build a new double-deck berth at the port to take the world’s largest ferries and further strengthen the port’s position as a gateway to Ireland. The injection of Objective 1 money is designed not only to help with this investment, but also enable transport and other planned improvements.

Through the Transport Grant scheme we are also investing in a larger scheme to regenerate Holyhead through improvement of the infrastructure of the town and port. The total cost of the Transport Grant scheme is £6.2 million with around £3.6 million from Transport Grant (WDA, LRF and ERDF are also contributing).  This will help to improve the link between the port and the railway station to the town centre and help to boost the economy of Holyhead.

In addition, since 1999, 25 projects in Anglesey have received offers of Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) support totaling £32,214,000, with a potential to lever investment of £88.3m.  1,214 jobs are forecast to be created and 973 to be maintained.

This support is illustrative of the determination of the Assembly Government to help promote the sustainable economic development of communities on the Isle of Anglesey, and across Wales more widely.