Mr. Leeasked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, what will be the cost of the advanced gas cooled reactor, now being constructed by the Atomic Energy Authority; and whether he will make a statement as to its future use.
§ Sir D. EcclesThe estimated cost of constructing the advanced gas cooled reactor at Windscale is about£9 million. It will be capable of producing useful quantities of steam, and the project includes generating machinery.
The advanced gas cooled reactor will be the prototype of larger scale reactors for use in the civil power programme. It offers prospects of considerable reduction in the cost of nuclear power. Its main functions will be to test fuel elements, and provide experience of the operating conditions and physics of this advanced system.