Nuclear Planner
Interactive scale explorer

How big is a nuclear reactor, really?

A 1 MWe microreactor and a 1,650 MWe EPR are both nuclear reactors, but they solve radically different power-system problems. Drag through the scale before comparing labels.

Drag the scale

1 MWe → 1,650 MWe

Move through the output range. We match your selected scale to the nearest real design in the curated Nuclear Planner dataset.

300 MWeMid-scale

The slider uses a logarithmic scale so a 1 MWe microreactor and a 1,650 MWe large reactor are both easy to explore.

Nearest designBWRX-300SMR · 300 MWe · GE Vernova Hitachi
Annual electricity at 92% capacity factor2,418 GWh/yearIllustrative planning assumption
Household-energy equivalent230,000Using 10,500 kWh/year per household
Open BWRX-300Use this scale in planner
Why this matters: “Nuclear reactor” can mean a transportable 1 MWe concept or a fixed 1,650 MWe plant. Output alone does not tell you technology, cost, safety case or suitability — but it is the fastest way to put the categories in perspective.
All designs

See the curated reactor set on one table.

The interactive explorer uses these source-backed design outputs. Click a model for technology, fuel, status and provenance.

DesignClassElectrical outputRelative to 1 MWe
KaleidosMicroreactor1 MWe1×
eVinciMicroreactor5 MWe5×
Aurora PowerhouseAdvanced reactor75 MWe75×
NuScale Power ModuleSMR77 MWe77×
Xe-100SMR80 MWe80×
BWRX-300SMR300 MWe300×
NatriumAdvanced reactor345 MWe345×
Rolls-Royce SMRSMR470 MWe470×
AP1000Large reactor1110 MWe1110×
APR1400Large reactor1400 MWe1400×
EPRLarge reactor1650 MWe1650×

A nameplate comparison is only the first layer. Annual energy also depends on capacity factor; system adequacy depends on outages, reserves, grid constraints and demand shape. Use the planner to change those assumptions.

Data snapshot verified against primary or authoritative sources: 21 September 2026. Reactor programmes and deployment schedules can change.

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