Latest news with #Anglesey
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Four charged with arson after Llangefni fire at ex-council headquarters
Four young people have been charged with arson in connection with a fire at former council headquarters. The blaze caused significant damage to Shire Hall, Llangefni, in Anglesey in December 2023. At the time there were four arrests, but it has taken 18 months for anyone to be charged. North Wales Police did not provide any information on the youths' ages or where they are will appear at Caernarfon Youth Court on Wednesday, 9 July.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
US nuclear giant plans to build major power plant in Wales
A US energy giant is in talks with Downing Street to build a major power plant off the coast of Wales as Sir Keir Starmer throws his support behind a nuclear renaissance in Britain. Westinghouse, which is also pursuing a US nuclear expansion under Donald Trump, is understood to have presented plans for at least two large reactors at Wylfa, in the Isle of Anglesey. It is lobbying for the Welsh site to be kept in reserve for the project – which could power several million homes – as the Government considers whether to put mini nuclear plants there instead. State-owned South Korean energy giant Kepco was previously interested in the site but is said to have dropped the plans after settling a global legal dispute with Westinghouse. Wylfa, where a now decommissioned nuclear plant generated power until 2015, is seen as attractive thanks to its ample space and favourable geology. The Westinghouse plant would be similar in size to Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, and Sizewell C, in Suffolk, which will use technology provided by French nuclear giant EDF and come online in the 2030s. In discussions with government officials, Westinghouse has claimed that a plant at Wylfa using its AP1000 reactors could also come online by the mid-2030s and for just a fraction of the cost. An offer submitted by the company in February, which was revised just weeks before Rachel Reeves unveiled her spending review, proposes two reactors initially, with an option for another two later. Each would generate about 1.1 gigawatts (GW) of electricity. They could be built for a similar price to the 10 that Westinghouse wants to build in the US for Trump's administration, or $7.5bn (£5.5bn) per reactor, according to Whitehall and industry sources. That would imply a cost of around £22bn for a 4.4GW plant at Wylfa, compared to the £40bn expected cost of the 3.2GW plant proposed at Sizewell. South Korean engineering giant Hyundai is being lined up as a potential partner to manage the project's construction. A spokesman for Westinghouse declined to comment on Tuesday. Shift in thinking A Wylfa project has been on the cards for years. But earlier proposals put forward by Hitachi and then a consortium including Westinghouse failed to pan out. The latest proposal would likely take advantage of the so-called regulated asset base (RAB) model. This would let the developers recover some of their investment during construction through a levy on consumer bills. Talks remain at an early stage and Whitehall sources stressed that no decisions had been made. But the discussion about another large nuclear plant marks a shift in the Government's thinking, amid questions over Labour's commitment to plans previously set out by the Conservatives. Tory ministers announced that another big nuclear plant would be built at Wylfa last year. But soon after Labour's election victory, Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, put the commitment under review. Massive cost overruns at Hinkley Point C, the only new nuclear power plant under construction, have also fuelled concerns about value for money. The Prime Minister has since thrown his weight behind nuclear as a way to 'bring down bills for millions of people across the country' and Ms Reeves announced £14bn for Sizewell C's construction last week. On Tuesday, a government spokesman said: 'We are launching a golden age of nuclear to help deliver clean power, because by taking back control of our energy we will protect family finances, boost energy security, create thousands of jobs and tackle the climate crisis. 'As a site which has previously hosted a nuclear power station, we will work with Great British Energy – Nuclear to assess options for new nuclear at Wylfa.' Rolls-Royce reactor plans The discussions have surfaced as officials are separately negotiating a final deal with Rolls-Royce to build the first small modular reactors (SMRs) after the Derby-based company won a design competition. A location has not been chosen but Wylfa is seen as one potential site alongside Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire. Both are government-owned and Rolls has said either would be suitable for its needs. But Westinghouse has argued that Wylfa – regarded by the nuclear industry as the best site in the country – is more suited to a large project. The company is also understood to be interested in building SMRs elsewhere in the UK including at Moorside, Cumbria, which was recently made available for development by the Government. It comes after Donald Trump vowed to achieve 'American dominance in the global nuclear market' with a massive building programme that has sparked hopes of a renaissance for the industry. As part of those plans, Westinghouse has bid to build 10 reactors for $75bn. The company's last US plant, at Vogtle, Georgia, cost $17bn per reactor and contributed to Westinghouse's bankruptcy in 2017. Bosses insist they can now make them more cheaply thanks to existing supply chains and repeatable designs. Tufan Erginbilgiç, Rolls-Royce's chief executive, said the company had been deluged with calls from potential customers since it secured government backing to develop three SMRs. He said: 'Right now we have so many calls from so many countries, and after the Great British Nuclear win, those calls increased significantly.'
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Conwy: Artificial reef aims to bring wild oysters back
Wild Oysters are set to be introduced into Conwy Bay after an almost two-year delay was brought to an end by a succession of University have been given permission to proceed to the final stage of the project and "reseed" a 660-tonne artificial Matthew Forbes said the project would "finally move towards completion" with the first distribution run set to take place on oysters, once a major part of Wales's fishing industry, have been in decline as a result of over-fishing, changes in water quality, and disease. It was first reported in July 2023 that Bangor University was working with the Zoological Society of London to reintroduce wild oysters into the Council's Harbour Advisory Committee met this week for an update on the at the meeting, harbourmaster Matthew Forbes said the reef was initially "above the marine licensed permitted height"."Over the last couple of years, storms have knocked the reef height down," he Forbes said Natural Resources Wales had agreed the project could now move forward and 76 bags of oysters were ready to be distributed. Meeting chairwoman Joan Vaughan said it would be "lovely" to have oysters in the River Conwy. Native oysters used to be found around Conwy in large numbers but have virtually disappeared in recent beds were a common sight in the Menai Strait and around Wild Oysters Project website said they were a "vital food source" for coastal communities and "contributed" to the Welsh Mumbles or 'Oystermouth' fishery was the largest in Wales supporting 400 fishers across 188 boats. In the mid-1800s Welsh oyster boats reported landing 8,000 oysters daily, but up to 15,000 to 20,000 oysters in some efforts to reintroduce the shellfish in Wales follow a pattern of declining numbers in other parts of the UK.A wildlife project on the East Yorkshire coast is testing a new breeding technique to reintroduce 500,000 native European flat oysters over the next five was also mooted that oysters could return to the Thames as part of an effort to clean London's rivers last year.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rolls-Royce to build Britain's first mini nuclear reactors
Rolls-Royce will build the country's first mini nuclear power plants as part of a multibillion-pound effort to make Britain a world leader in the technology. The Derby-based engineering giant was on Tuesday confirmed as the sole winner of a design competition, beating rivals GE-Hitachi and Holtec International following a two-year selection process. It will now work with the Government on a programme to initially build three the first small modular reactors (SMRs) by the 2030s, with £2.5bn of funding pledged through 2029 and billions more expected beyond that once construction begins. Ministers said the decision showed they were 'backing Britain', with the majority of the supply chain expected to be based domestically. As a 'preferred' bidder, Rolls will now hold talks to negotiate a final contract with the Government. A location has yet to be announced but sites including Wylfa, in Anglesey, and Oldbury-on-Severn, in Gloucestershire, are among those being considered. Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, said the scheme would boost energy security and create thousands of jobs, as part of a new 'golden age of nuclear' that has also seen the Government pledge £14bn of new funding to the construction of Sizewell C. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, added: 'The UK is back where it belongs, taking the lead in the technologies of tomorrow with Rolls-Royce SMR as the preferred partner for this journey. 'We're backing Britain with Great British Energy - Nuclear's ambition to ensure 70pc of supply chain products are British built, delivering our plan for change through more jobs and putting more money in people's pockets.' SMRs would in theory be faster to build than larger nuclear plants, such as Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, and come with smaller price tags – although they remain unproven commercially. Tuesday's announcement also confirmed cutbacks to the SMR programme, which The Telegraph previously revealed were being considered. The Government had earlier suggested that two or as many as three SMR manufacturers would be chosen to take designs forward, with nuclear industry insiders saying this would boost competition and ensure a 'backup' was available should the main winner run into trouble. But with the Treasury under pressure to find billions of pounds for other priorities such as the NHS and police forces, the scale of the programme now appears to have been trimmed back. Ministers also confirmed that Great British Nuclear, the quango set up to manage the new mini-nuclear programme, would be absorbed into Mr Miliband's publicly owned Great British Energy. Tufan Erginbilgic, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, said: 'This is a very significant milestone for our business. 'It is a vote of confidence in our unique nuclear capabilities, which will be recognised by governments around the world.' Rolls has also been selected by the Czech government to build some of Europe's first SMRs in a joint venture with state energy firm CEZ. The decision brings to a close a process that was first promised by George Osborne, the former chancellor, in 2015 but did not begin until 2023 under the previous Conservative government. Rolls was widely viewed as the frontrunner in the process and had already been awarded £210m of taxpayer support in 2021 towards the development costs of its SMR technology. But in the past year, ministers have faced calls from Rolls boss Erginbilgic to push forward more quickly to ensure Britain retains 'first mover advantage'. The global SMR market is projected to be worth up to £500bn by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency. Rolls is vying against companies including Westinghouse and GE-Hitachi to secure customers and set up supply chains. The company has long supplied the pressurised water reactors that power Royal Navy submarines but has more recently sought to develop SMRs and even smaller 'micro reactors' for commercial use as well. Its SMRs would be constructed from 'modules' that are built in factories and then transported to sites for assembly. The idea is meant to ensure that the plants can be produced efficiently at scale and more quickly than larger nuclear projects. As part of the SMR competition, the Government asked companies to explain how they would bring down costs over time. In the longer run, it is also hoped that the smaller price tags of SMRs will ensure they are more attractive to private investors, which have long viewed bigger plants as too expensive and risky to back without government support. Major technology companies including Google, Amazon and Facebook owner Meta are investing in potential SMR technologies, amid suggestions they could eventually be used to supply power-hungry data centres needed to develop artificial intelligence. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
2 Sisters: Former workers sue chicken plant after contracting Covid
Former workers at a poultry factory who claim they caught coronavirus in a mass outbreak at the plant can continue legal action against their former Health Wales said there were over 200 confirmed Covid-19 cases linked to the 2 Sisters plant in Llangefni, on Anglesey, in June group are suing 2 Sisters Food Group, alleging they contracted Covid-19 as a result of a breach of duty, breach of contract and negligence. Their case was thrown out last year but they have now won a High Court appeal, allowing the case to for 2 Sisters previously argued the claimants could not prove how they caught the virus and if it was connected to the factory. The 2 Sisters factory closed down permanently in March 2023, with the loss of over 700 jobs, after the company said the site was old and needed too much investment to bring it up to the height of the pandemic in 2020, its site was one of several food processing factories in Wales that experienced outbreaks of the time, Health Minister Vaughan Gething said officials were looking at the level of risk in the food industry. Mark Edwards, Glynne Roberts, Nia Williams and Brian Perry worked on the chicken production line and claim they worked "shoulder to shoulder" and all fell ill with the virus that part of their claim, they say Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at work regulations had not been properly company accepts the staff worked in close proximity with each other, but denies they were "shoulder to shoulder".The firm said it implemented enhanced hygiene measures at the factory which was temporarily closed on 18 June 2020. At the start of their legal action, the former employees had not obtained expert medical evidence to support the lawyers said occupational health experts and virologists would be asked to give their opinion before the case went to also said the company should disclose evidence about the outbreak before they could ask for expert opinion to back up the for 2 Sisters argued the claimants could not prove when or how they had caught the virus and if it had any connection to the January 2024 they asked for the case to be struck out at the county court in Caernarfon on the basis that Mr Edwards and the others could not prove the cause of their illness and that their claim was doomed to July, Judge Wendy Owen ruled there was no real prospect of the claim succeeding without medical evidence and no other compelling reason why the case should go to judge said the issue of causation and medical opinion was a crucial element which should have already been investigated before proceedings were commenced, and gave a summary judgement against the former workers. But permission to appeal the case was granted in December 2024 and a hearing before a High Court judge in Cardiff was held in a judgement handed down at the end of May, High Court judge Sir Peter Lane said the summary judgment process was "somewhat draconian in nature" and courts should avoid conducting what has come to be described as a "mini trial" of a Peter said Judge Owen "fell into error" in effectively conducting a "mini trial" without the benefit of the evidence that would have been available had the case been allowed to proceed to found that in a claim where the costs of an expert are likely to be significant, when set against the likely value of the claims, it is "plainly proportionate" for the former workers to have proceeded with the claim in this the appeal, he said the claimants may face "an uphill task" but Judge Owen could not be satisfied the claimants had no real prospect of date for the next hearing is yet to be decided.
