|
|
|
 |
Electricity : Types of Plants
|
The two types of reactor operating in the United States are the pressurized water reactor (PWR) and the boiling water reactor (BWR). The heat for the BWR is produced in the same way as for a PWR. However, the water is allowed to boil and the steam proceeds directly to the turbine. Once the steam passes through the turbine, it is condensed back to water just like in the PWR. This water is then pumped back to the reactor to be heated again, continuing the process.
In the summer of 2004, utility-vendor consortia emerged with plans to submit the first applications in 30 years to the U.S. Department of Energy for the construction and operation of new nuclear power plants in the United States. NuStart and two groups of companies, one led by Dominion and the other by the Tennessee Valley Authority, each offer new advances to current reactor technology.
In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must certify the designs for proposed nuclear power plants before a construction and operation license can be issued. While momentum is building in the U.S. for new plants to be built, other countries have already demonstrated the success of various plant technologies. Generation IV (or Gen IV) designs are nuclear reactor designs still in the conceptual phase and represent the future of nuclear power.
|
|
|
|
|
