THE man in charge of Anglesey’s nuclear power station is confident that it will continue generating as a decision on its future draws closer.
Wylfa site director Nick Gore said that he expected a decision by nuclear regulators on extending generation to 2012 by October.
“We are well on the way to achieving what we need to get extended generation,” he said.
“All we have to do is just carry on operating safely and compliantly.”
The station will complete its final safety case to the HSE Nuclear Directorate in September.
The station was due to end generation in December.
Mr Gore said that an extension would benefit the island’s economy after job losses at businesses such as Anglesey Aluminium over the last year.
“There are 650 here full time staff employed here,“ he said. “In effect these people will be in full time employment for a longer period.”
He added that the station would also contribute through its supply chain and business rates that would lower if generation ended.
Mr Gore added that new nuclear builds would be essential to meet future energy needs.
“We will not meet our C02 targets without a new nuclear power stations, he said. “We will run out of electricity in about 2020 because of all the power stations closures between now and 2012. We need something to fill the gap.
Horizon Nuclear Power named Wylfa as one of two preferred sites for its application to build a new plant earlier this year.
The company announced on Monday that it had signed a deal with French company Arreva and Toshiba for preliminary design work on the proposed station.
Mr Gore said: “My hope would be that some of my staff will get jobs in the new station . That would be a great outcome. “
He added that Magnox North had spent £12 million on maintenance and upgrades in a bid to secure.
“If you look at the fire system, on day one bears no resemblance to now,” he said. “In a station like this you continue to invest to maintain high standards."
If the extension is granted, decommissioning will begin in 2015. Mr Gore said that the number of staff retained during decommissioning depended on government funding.
Under the current schedule, final site clearance would happen in 2125.
Mr Gore added that the station’s safety record showed that nuclear power was safe and efficient.
“In 40 years we’ve not has a single nuclear or radiological event to speak of and generally people accept that it is performing well and is very safe,” he said. “The best thing to demonstrate nuclear power is to continue to operate safely and compliantly.”
A spokesman for HSE added: "We anticipate being in a position to make a decision on whether to accept the licensee's safety cases and thereby continued operation of Wylfa power station in October 2010. "