§ 30 . Mr. Forrestasked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what estimate he has made of the cost per unit of electricity which would be produced by a power station employing the latest advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactor as compared with the cost per unit of electricity produced by the latest conventional coal-fired power station.
§ Mr. Denzil Freeth:Assuming a 20-year life, 75 per cent. load factor and 6 per cent. interest charge, the Atomic Energy Authority estimates that an advanced gas-cooled reactor station of two 500 mw. reactors would produce electricity at rather less than .5d. per unit, excluding the recovery of development expenditure. This should fall to .45d. per unit and probably lower as the reactor system is developed further and larger reactors built. If the load factor was taken as 85 per cent the unit cost would be reduced by about 0.04d. If in addition the station life was taken to be 30 years a further reduction of 0.03d. would result.
These estimates assume that the overheads of industry and the A.E.A. in connection with advanced gas-cooled reactors are spread over a series of stations.
For estimates of the current cost per unit of electricity from coal-fired stations, I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Power to the hon. Member for Dorset, West (Mr. Wingfield Digby) on 19th February.