Editor,

I welcome the news that UK Government are in talks with reactor manufacturers Westinghouse and Rolls-Royce to build nuclear power sites in Wylfa and Trawsfynydd respectively.

The word ‘nuclear’ unfortunately conjures up images of tinpot dictators like Kim Jong-Un or the theocratic regime in Iran — or perhaps the tragic Chernobyl disaster.

Anti-nuclear campaigners rely on us to have those images in our head to continue its opposition to them. However, these arguments are flimsy.

Nuclear power is safe, effective and green. It is an essential part of our energy mix going forward and it is the only realistic way we will get to net-zero. It will provide well-paid, high-skilled jobs for local people and it will help retain talent in the area as well as attract new talent to the area. Linked to this are Welsh-language benefits.

Retaining local people is essential so the language remains widely spoken.

Consider the economic benefits too, with people’s cash spilling into local towns like Porthmadog, Dolgellau and Blaenau Ffestiniog.And it will be another thing that places north-west Wales at the centre of the map, following the area being added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.For Dwyfor Meirionnydd’s sake, let’s hope UK Government, Welsh Government, Gwynedd Council and the local MP and MS reject the anti-nuclear doom-mongering and work together to get this done.

Charlie Evans Dwyfor Meirionnydd

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