§ 16. Mr. Lubbockasked the Minister of Power what is now the planned amount of nuclear generating capacity to be installed in the second nuclear power programme; and if he will estimate the proportion this represents of the total generating capacity to he installed in the same period in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. MarshI told the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Peyton) on 17th January that the plant programmes beyond 1970 have not yet been settled.—[Vol. 739, c. 9.] At a rough estimate, however, the 8,000 magawatts of the second nuclear power programme may cover about one-third of the total plant installed in the years 1970–75.
§ Mr. LubbockHas the Minister had a chance to study the calculations which I sent him, which show that nuclear plant will represent only about one-fifth of the installed capacity in these years and, further, that in the United States in the first nine months of 1966, electricity authorities ordered 64,000 megawatts of nuclear power, amounting to 51 per cent. of the total plant orders in the period? Is there not a serious danger that we will fall way behind the Americans in this new technology, in which we once had a substantial lead?
§ Mr. MarshI agree that it is essential that we should preserve the lead which we had and which we still have. I have seen the calculations which were carried out for the hon. Member. I think they are misleading, because some of the assumptions are unsound, but I intend to write to him in detail.