Nuclear power plant designs

U.S. nuclear power plants are based on two designs: the pressurized water reactor (PWR) and the boiling water reactor (BWR). Both designs are members of the family of light water reactors—plant designs that use ordinary water as a coolant (the substance circulated through the reactor to carry the heat away) and as a moderator (to increase the likelihood of fission by slowing down the speed of neutrons in the reactor).

For more information on PWRs and BWRs, see How a Nuclear Power Plant Works in this section.

Some of the other nuclear plant designs used around the world are:

• Advanced gas-cooled reactor (used in the United Kingdom)
• Gas-cooled or Magnox reactor (used in the United Kingdom)
• CANDU reactor (a Canadian design used in Canada, India, Argentina, Romania and South Korea)
• Liquid metal-cooled reactor (also known as a fast breeder or breeder reactor because it generates new fuel as it operates)
• RBMK (also known as a light water-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor; used in Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania)

For information on these plant designs, go to The Virtual Nuclear Tourist and scroll down the Table of Contents until you get to the section Power Plant Designs Around the World.

For photos of nuclear power plants around the world, go to The Virtual Nuclear Tourist and scroll down the Table of Contents until you get to the section Plant Locations & More Photos.

Nuclear Energy Institute—Washington, DC
August 2000