The U.K.’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cwmni Egino. The NDA has the task of cleaning up the U.K.’s earliest nuclear sites. Cwmni Egino is a development company established by the Welsh Government to drive development of the Trawsfynydd in North Wales. It is charged with promoting economic and social regeneration. The MoU supports Cwmni Egino in the development of a new small scale nuclear project at Trawsfynydd in North Wales.
     The MoU means that the NDA can share information about its land at Trawsfynydd and make sure that its decommissioning plans and the new nuclear project are aligned.
     The three hundred and ninety-two megawatt Magnox nuclear power plant currently at Trawsfynydd began operation in 1965. It operated for twenty-six years before being retired. The plant is now owned by NDA and is being decommissioned by the NDA subsidiary Magnox Ltd. The NDA is also the owner of land outside the Magnox site boundary which could be used for a new nuclear development.
     Cwmni Egino is currently developing a business plan for the site with the intent to begin construction in 2027. The NDA and Cwmni Egino announced earlier this year that they planned to work together to develop the site. The MoU formalizing their collaboration.
     The U.K. Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published its energy strategy earlier this year. The plan includes commitments for delivering new nuclear power, including small modular reactors (SMRs).
      Martin Callanan is Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility. He 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.”
     David Peattie is the Chief Executive of NDA. He 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, formalizing 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 neighboring our North Wales site.”
     Alan Raymant is the Chief Executive of Cwmni Egino. He 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.”
      Vaughan Gething is the Economy Minister for the Welsh Government. He said, “The MOU between Cwmni Egino and the NDA is very good news.  We established Cwmni Egino to maximize 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.”