This page is a collection of the most recent information on the different types of new nuclear power reactors available in the OECD.
Nuclear power is a mature and proven technology which is strongly regulated and controlled, making it among the safest and cleanest available. It is also the lowest cost while its fuel supply is abundant, sustainable, secure and reliable.
The existing reactor designs have been improved so they now offer even better performance. Many of the reactors built in the seventies have proven so reliable they have had their license to operate extended to sixty years.
Any reactor built in Ireland would have all of these improvements.
Below are listed some of the new reactors being licensed in the OECD.

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Design Descriptions

ABWR: The U.S. Advanced Boiling Water Reactor design uses a single-cycle, forced circulation, reactor with a rated power of 1,300 megawatts electric (MWe). The design incorporates features of the BWR designs in Europe, Japan, and the United States, and uses improved electronics, computer, turbine, and fuel technology. The design is expected to increase plant availability, operating capacity, safety, and reliability. Improvements include the use of internal recirculation pumps, control rod drives that can be controlled by a screw mechanism rather than a step process, microprocessor-based digital control and logic systems, and digital safety systems. The design also includes safety enhancements such as protection against over pressurizing the containment, passive core debris flooding capability, an independent water makeup system, three emergency diesels, and a combustion turbine as an alternate power source.

ACR700: The ACR-700 ® is an evolutionary, Generation III+, 750 MWe class pressurized tube reactor, designed to meet industry and public expectations for safe, reliable, environmentally friendly, low-cost nuclear generation. The ACR-700 is designed for a 2016 in-service date, and is currently undergoing a pre-licensing review in Canada.

ACR1000: The ACR-1000 ® is an evolutionary, Generation III+, 1200 MWe class pressurized tube reactor, designed to meet industry and public expectations for safe, reliable, environmentally friendly, low-cost nuclear generation. The ACR-1000 is designed for a 2016 in-service date, and is currently undergoing a pre-licensing review in Canada.

AP600: This is a 600 MWe advanced pressurized water reactor that incorporates passive safety systems and simplified system designs. The passive systems use natural driving forces without active pumps, diesels, and other support systems after actuation. Use of redundant, non-safety-related, active equipment and systems minimizes unnecessary use of safety-related systems.

AP1000: This is a larger version of the previously approved AP600 design. It is a 1,000 MWe advanced pressurized water reactor that incorporates passive safety systems and simplified system designs. It is similar to the AP600 design but uses a longer reactor vessel to accommodate longer fuel, and also includes larger steam generators and a larger pressurizer.

ESBWR: The Economic and Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) is a 1,390 MWe, natural circulation boiling water reactor that incorporates passive safety features. This design is based on its predecessor, the 670 MWe Simplified BWR (SBWR) and also utilizes features of the certified Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). Natural circulation was enhanced in the ESBWR by using a taller vessel, a shorter core, and by reducing the flow restrictions. The ESBWR design utilizes the isolation condenser system for high-pressure water level control and decay heat removal during isolated conditions. After the automatic depressurization system operates, low-pressure water level control is provided by the gravity-driven cooling system. Containment cooling is provided by the passive containment cooling system.

IRIS: The International Reactor Innovative and Secure is a pressurized light water cooled, medium-power 335MWe reactor that has been under development for several years by an international consortium. IRIS is a pressurized water reactor that utilizes an integral reactor coolant system layout. The IRIS reactor vessel houses not only the nuclear fuel and control rods, but also all the major reactor coolant systems components including pumps, steam generators, pressurizer and neutron reflector. The IRIS integral vessel is larger than a traditional PWR pressure vessel, but the size of the IRIS containment is a fraction of the size of corresponding loop reactors.

PBMR: The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor is a modular HTGR that uses helium as its coolant. PBMR design consists of eight reactor modules, 165 MWe per module, with capacity to store 10 years of spent fuel in the plant (there is additional storage capability in onsite concrete silos). The PBMR core is based on the German high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology and uses spherical graphite elements containing ceramic-coated fuel particles.

System 80+: This standard plant design uses a 1,300 MWe pressurized water reactor. It is based upon evolutionary improvements to the standard CE System 80 nuclear steam supply system and a balance-of-plant design developed by Duke Power Co. The System 80+ design has safety systems that provide emergency core cooling, feedwater and decay heat removal. The new design also has a safety depressurization system for the reactor, a combustion turbine as an alternate AC power source, and an in-containment refueling water storage tank to enhance the safety and reliability of the reactor system.