§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether, in view of the prolonged delays in reaching agreement on the design of the SGHWR's for Sizewell and Torness, and the fact that the designers are now contemplating major changes from the Winfrith prototype, e.g., in the fuel pin assemblies, he will make a statement upon the difficulties which are holding up progress.
§ Mr. BennIt has long been recognised that there would have to be some design changes from the Winfrith prototype for a commercial reactor—for example, because of its larger size. Following its review of key aspects of the design, the Nuclear Power Co. has made firm recommendations to the electricity boards and is discussing them with them.
§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will undertake an analysis of the reasons why, when the Germans have been able to complete the Biblis A nuclear power station of 1146 MWe in 58 months between starting site-work and generating power, the Hartle-pool AGR, of 625 MWe, will have taken 114 months to make the same progress; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the SGHWR programme proceeds at a speed comparable to Great Britain's main competitors' programmes.
§ Mr. BennThe problems with the AGRs are well-known, as are the problems which certain other countries, including the Federal Republic of Germany, have had with the construction of some of their power reactors. Reorganisation of our nuclear design and construction industry has been designed to strengthen our capability for the future. All the responsible organisations are committed to launching the SGHWR as a commercial system and are working to that end.