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A generation II reactor is a design classification for a nuclear reactor, and refers to the class of commercial reactors built until the end of the 1990s. Prototypical and older versions of PWR,
Nuclear Reactors Knowledge Base at IAEA
Nuclear power reactor types {{nuclear-energy-stub
A generation II reactor is a design classification for a nuclear reactor, and refers to the class of commercial reactors built until the end of the 1990s. Prototypical and older versions of PWR, CANDU
The CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium oxide ( heavy water) moderator and its use of (originally, natural) uranium fuel. C ...
, BWR
A boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of light water nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is a design different from a Soviet graphite-moderated RBMK. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuc ...
, AGR, RBMK and VVER are among them.
These are contrasted to reactors, which refer to the early prototype of power reactors, such as Shippingport
Shippingport is a borough in western Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Ohio River. The population was 159 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Shippingport is home to the Beaver Valley ...
, Magnox/ UNGG, AMB
AMB may refer to:
* Active magnetic bearing
* Advanced Memory Buffer, used in Fully Buffered DIMM memory
* Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, one of the armed sections of the Palestinian Fatah movement
* Ambergate railway station, abbreviation used in the ...
, Fermi 1, and Dresden 1. The last commercial Gen I power reactor was located at the Wylfa Nuclear Power Station and ceased operation at the end of 2015. The nomenclature for reactor designs, describing four 'generations', was proposed by the US Department of Energy when it introduced the concept of generation IV reactors.
The designation ''generation II+ reactor'' is sometimes used for modernized generation II designs built post-2000, such as the Chinese CPR-1000, in competition with more expensive generation III reactor
Generation III reactors, or Gen III reactors, are a class of nuclear reactors designed to succeed Generation II reactors, incorporating evolutionary improvements in design. These include improved fuel technology, higher thermal efficiency, sign ...
designs. Typically, the modernization includes improved safety systems and a 60-year design life.
Generation II reactor designs generally had an original design life of 30 or 40 years. This date was set as the period over which loans taken out for the plant would be paid off. However, many generation II reactors are being life-extended to 50 or 60 years, and a second life-extension to 80 years may also be economic in many cases. By 2013 about 75% of still operating U.S. reactors had been granted life extension licenses to 60 years.
Chernobyl's No.4 reactor that exploded was a generation II reactor, specifically RBMK-1000.
Fukushima Daiichi
The is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Ōkuma and Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The plant suffered major damage from the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. Th ...
's three destroyed reactors were generation II reactors; specifically Mark I Boiling water reactors (BWR) designed by General Electric.
In 2016, unit 2 at the Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station came online and is likely to be the last generation II reactor to become operational in the United States.
See also
* List of reactor typesReferences
External links
Nuclear Reactors Knowledge Base at IAEA
Nuclear power reactor types {{nuclear-energy-stub