The legacy of Experimental Breeder Reactor-I

January 31, 2023, 9:30AMNuclear NewsJeremy Hampshire
On December 20, 1951, EBR-I became the first power plant to produce usable electricity through atomic fission. It powered four 200-watt light bulbs and eventually generated enough electricity to light the entire facility. (Photo: DOE)

"At 1:23 p.m. load dissipaters from the generator were connected—electricity flows from atomic energy.” These were the words Walter Zinn wrote in the log after the first four light bulbs were illuminated by nuclear energy. The year was 1951, and the EBR-­I was about to show the world what nuclear energy had to offer.

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