In April 1980 Paul Flynn MP, Les and Judy James , organic farmer Peter Segar and environmentalists from the Central Wales Energy Group came together to establish an alliance that would pull together groups and individuals across Wales who were concerned about all matters nuclear.

 

Activity includes:

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1981 - 1982 Achieved a Wales wide campaign to persuade all Welsh local authorities to declare themselves “ nuclear free zones” . Pete Segar, Dafydd Wigley and Paul Flynn took news of the nuclear free wales declaration to the European Parliament

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1982 - 1984 – Serious campaigning around new proposals to build Pressurised Water Reactors at Sizewell B and later Hinkley

C – campaigns involved :

 

· Dragon Trip –a 2 week journey from South Wales to London with a large inflatable dragon that sailed down the River Thames past Westminster

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· Monthly ‘ hit squad’ visits to South Wales towns to highlight future plans for a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) at Hinkley near Bridgewater just across the Severn Estuary

 

· Detailed presentations of evidence at the Planning Enquiry at Sizewell + London by Hugh Richards on PWR’s

 

· Detailed evidence presented by WANA and personal objections by numerous members of WAN A at the Hinkley

Enquiry – a spectacular postcard campaign delayed the enquiry and its outcome by years .

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1986 – WANA issues guidance to members of the public about the effects of the Chernobyl accident where none existed and campaigned for routine radiation monitoring leading to the emergence of low level radiation campaigns

 

Late 80’s - Central in the campaigns to establish Cymdeithas Atal Dinistr Niwclear Oesol (CADNO) in Meirionnydd and People Against Wylfa-B/Pobl Atal Wylfa B (PAWB) in Ynys Mon, both instrumental in fighting plans to develop new nuclear power stations in Wales.

 

Early 90’s – A campaign of demonstrations and letter-writing encouraged NII to put pressure on the operators of Trawsfynydd, who had applied to run the reactor at a higher temperature, led to the operators withdrawing their application and it closed.

 

1996 – Plans to build new PWR’s in the UK are shelved although Sizewell B has already been given the go ahead .

 

1996 – 2010 WANA continues the fight to keep the issues current .

Hugh Richards with others produce highly valued work on

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· nuclear waste and spent fuel management .

· decommissioning costs of old stations

· dangers of high burn-up fuel ( proposed by Westinghouse      and Areva)

· work on tritium

 

2010 – Hugh Richards dies of bone marrow cancer and the heart goes out of WANA

 

–see

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/nov/09/hugh-richards-obituary

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CURRENT STATE OF PLAY

On 19 July 2011 the Government “designated” or approved six National Policy Statements for Energy Infrastructure including one on Nuclear Generation. This listed eight sites in England and Wales as suitable for the deployment of new nuclear reactors. Since then, thirteen new nuclear reactors have been proposed at six of those sites. These are:

Capacity Annual output (90% load factor) Investment Decision Expected Opening Date.

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Hinkley Point C       2 x EPRs 3.2GW 25TWh Sept 2016 2025

Sizewell C               2 x EPRs 3.2GW 25TWh 2027 – 2028

Wylfa Newydd        2 x ABWRs 2.7GW 21TWh 2018 2024

Oldbury                  2 x ABWRs 2.7GW 21TWh 2027

Moorside                3 x AP1000s 3.4GW 27TWh End of 2018 2024 – 2026.

Bradwell                 2 x Hualong One 2.3GW 18TWh After 2022 ?

 

Hinkley Point

Work has already started at Hinkley Point C. In March 2017 concrete pouring started on the first permanent structures: an 8km network of tunnels that will carry piping and cables around the site.