Nuclear Power Grows Economic

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30541, 9 September 1964, Page 5

Nuclear Power Grows Economic

(N.Z.P J).-Reuter—Copyright)

GENEVA, September 8.

Sir William Penney, chairman of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, said there was every prospect that after 1975 Britain’s nuclear thermal systems would be more economical than coal dr oil-fired plants.

Sir William Penney was introducing a paper at the “Atoms for Peace” conference. He said that by the mid1980s nuclear power would perhaps supply electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of 100,000,000 toils of coal and by the turn of the century the figure might equal 250,000,000 tons a year. But Britain, in spite of the great experience with nuclear power, did not yet have the facts on which reliable figures for the costs of the next phase of 5000 megawatts of electrical nuclear power could be based, he said. “Strong Competitor” The advanced gas-cooled reactor, a prototype of which went on full power early last year at Windseale, “will be a very strong competitor” if work goes as well as expected, Sir William Penney said.

The Windscale prototype, with the highest coolant outlet temperature of any power reactor at present operating, has worked well during the first 15 months of full-power operation. Work to demonstrate that the technical problems of the A.G.R. system have been solved should be. completed within a year or so, Sir William Penney said.

“We also want to look further at some water-moderated reactors before a final choice is made. We are therefore trying to find out more about the costs of all . these systems on the basis of firm tenders from British industry,” he said.