On December 18, 1957, the first nuclear-powered electrical current was generated in the United States.
The Shipping Port Atomic Power Station holds the distinction of being the first power station dedicated to peaceful nuclear energy production, as recognized by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Located near the Beaver Valley Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania, the SAP station marked a milestone in civilian atomic energy.
The atomic core actually achieved criticality earlier, on December 02, 1957, but it wasn't until December 18 of the same year that electricity was truly produced. Engineers had to synchronize the plant's system with the distribution grid operated by the Duquesne light Company before the facility could begin sharing its electrical output.
The Reactor Designs
Highly enriched Uranium served as the seed fuel in the plant's inaugural reactor core, with natural U-238 acting as a blanket around the seed to keep it contained — a configuration known as seed-and-blanket design. When the second core came along, it featured a larger seed capable of generating more power, though this came with a tradeoff: the bigger nuclear seed meant the core could only complete a limited number of cycles before needing a recharge. Things took a dramatically different direction with the third core, which was considered an experimental core built on a wholly new design concept.
What the engineers constructed was a light-water moderated thermal breeder reactor. This time, the seed and blanket design enclosed a Uranium-233 seed, wrapped in a blanket of Thorium. The breeder reactor's purpose was to convert Thorium into Uranium-233 as a part of the fuel cycle. By the time the plant was closed down in1982, it had logged an impressive 80,324 operational hours and generated 7.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. Still, critiques argued that the plant cost more than it benefited the American citizen.