ANTI-NUCLEAR campaigners have condemned plans to build small modular reactors (SMRs) at Wylfa on Anglesey, dismissing claims that they will bring energy independence as a “fantasy” today.

CND Cymru commented after contracts to construct Britain’s first SMRs in north Wales were signed.

Anglesey was selected last year to become the site of the SMR programme by the Labour government at Westminster.

CND Cymru national secretary Dylan Lewis-Rowlands said: “Nuclear power does not deliver energy independence. Wales doesn’t mine fissile material, lacks the ability to enrich it and convert it into fuel, and has no storage capacity.

“We need to end the corporate nuclear fantasy and focus on the deliverable solutions that can be done quicker, cheaper and placed in the hands of communities — that is how we truly make Wales energy independent.”

Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan said: “Only Welsh Labour is focused on real action to tackle the cost of living and guarantee our energy security.

“We are also the only party with the ambition and record that will ensure Wales meets its net-zero goals.”

At peak construction, Labour claims about 3,000 high-skilled jobs will be created on the site, with thousands more supported across the supply chain, but CND Cymru disputes these figures.

“The vast majority of construction and supply chain jobs exist on paper and the skilled and specialised nature of these roles often means that the workers are moved from one site to another, not drawn from local pools of skill,” Mr Lewis-Rowlands said.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite is a strong supporter of the development of SMRs and we will now want to work with employers and suppliers to ensure these are well-paid, unionised jobs that bring real economic benefit to the workers and communities of Anglesey and across north Wales.”

Anglesey is the constituency of Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth. Despite the party’s opposition to nuclear power, it has said it will accept new nuclear projects on sites such as Wylfa where there has been a previous nuclear presence.

“Plaid Cymru believes we should be investing far more in faster deployable renewable energy, given Wales’s vast energy potential through wind and water,” a spokesperson said.

The agreement between Great British Energy Nuclear and Rolls-Royce formally begins the design phase. The initial development will include up to three Rolls-Royce SMR units, with the potential to host up to eight reactors.