New reactor design details
Sunday, January 24th, 2010
| Design | Company | Reactor type | Generating capacity | Key features | Proposed locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Passive 1000
Sources: NRC , Design amendment |
Westinghouse | Pressurized water reactor |
1,150 MWe or enough electricity to power a city with a population of about 650,000 |
Shuts down in an emergency without requiring operator action for 72 hours. About half of the 440 nuclear plants worldwide operate using Westinghouse technology, according to the company. | Duke Energy’s William Lee site in Cherokee County, S.C.; FPL's Turkey Point site in Homestead, Fla.; Progress Energy’s site in Levy County, Fla.; Progress Energy Carolinas’ Harris site in Wake County, N.C.; South Carolina Electric & Gas V.C. Summer site in Fairfield County, S.C.; Southern Nuclear Operating Company’s Vogtle site in Burke County, Georgia; Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bellefonte site in Jackson County, Ala. |
| Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor
|
GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy | Boiling water reactor | 1,520 MWe or enough electricity to power nearly 1 million homes | If water in the reactor vessel drops below normal levels, steam is condensed back into water and activates a gravity-driven cooling system. If radioactive material is released, it’s trapped in the containment building rather than escaping into the environment. | Detroit Edison Company’s Fermi site in Monroe County, Mich.; Dominion’s North Anna site in Louisa County, Va. |
| Evolutionary Power Reactor
|
Areva Nuclear Power | Pressurized water reactor | 1,650 MWe or enough electricity to power 1.5 million homes | Areva’s design uses less uranium than its predecessors, has lower power generation costs, and it's double-containment building can withstand a military or commercial airplane crash, according to the company. In case of emergency, one of four redundant safety systems kicks in. |
AmerenUE's Callaway site in Callaway County, Missouri; PPL's Bell Bend site in Luzerne County, Pa.; UniStar Nuclear Energy's Nine Mile Point site in Oswego, New York; Unistar's Calvert Cliffs site in Calvert County, Maryland. |
| U.S. Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor
Sources: NRC , Company submission to Energy Dept. , Mitsubishi |
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. | Pressurized water reactor | 1,700 MWe or enough electricity to power 875,000 homes | Design modified for U.S. market: Size of plant, which includes four steam generators, reduced by 20 percent. Mixed oxide fuel, which is made from reprocessed nuclear fuel waste, may be an option. | Luminant's Comanche Peak site in Somervell County, Texas |
