"Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I) is a decommissioned research reactor and U.S. National Historic Landmark located in the desert about 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Arco, Idaho. It was the world's first breeder reactor. At 1:50 p.m. on December 20, 1951, it became one of the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plants when it produced sufficient electricity to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs. EBR-I subsequently generated sufficient electricity to power its building, and continued to be used for experimental purposes until it was decommissioned in 1964. The museum is open for visitors from late May until early September.

"As part of the National Reactor Testing Station (since 2005 Idaho National Laboratory), EBR-I's construction started in late 1949. The reactor was designed and constructed by a team led by Walter Zinn at the Argonne National Laboratory Idaho site, known as Argonne-West. In its early stages, the reactor plant was referred to as Chicago Pile 4 (CP-4) and Zinn's Infernal Pile. Installation of the reactor at EBR-I took place in early 1951 (the first reactor in Idaho) and it began power operation on August 24, 1951. On December 20 of that year, atomic energy was successfully harvested at EBR-1 for the first time. The following day, the reactor produced enough power to light the whole building. The power plant produced 200 kW of electricity out of 1.4 MW of heat generated by the reactor.

"Although EBR-I produced the first electricity available in-house, a nearby experimental boiling water reactor plant called BORAX-III (also designed, built, and operated by Argonne National Laboratory) was connected to external loads, powering the nearby city of Arco, Idaho in 1955, the first time a city had been powered solely by nuclear power.

"Besides generating the world's first electricity from atomic energy, EBR-I was also the world's first breeder reactor and the first to use plutonium fuel to generate electricity (see also the Clementine nuclear reactor)." (Wikipedia)

"A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material than it consumes.[1] These reactors can be fueled with more-commonly available isotopes of uranium and thorium, such as uranium-238 and thorium-232, as opposed to the rare uranium-235 which is used in conventional reactors. These materials are called fertile materials since they can be bred into fuel by these breeder reactors.

"Breeder reactors achieve this because their neutron economy is high enough to create more fissile fuel than they use. These extra neutrons are absorbed by the fertile material that is loaded into the reactor along with fissile fuel. This irradiated fertile material in turn transmutes into fissile material which can undergo fission reactions.

"Breeders were at first found attractive because they made more complete use of uranium fuel than light-water reactors, but interest declined after the 1960s, as more uranium reserves were found,[2] and new methods of uranium enrichment reduced fuel costs." (Wikipedia)

"A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces electricity. As of September 2023, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported there were 410 nuclear power reactors in operation in 31 countries around the world, and 57 nuclear power reactors under construction.

"Nuclear plants are very often used for base load since their operations, maintenance, and fuel costs are at the lower end of the spectrum of costs. However, building a nuclear power plant often spans five to ten years, which can accrue to significant financial costs, depending on how the initial investments are financed.

"Nuclear power plants have a carbon footprint comparable to that of renewable energy such as solar farms and wind farms, and much lower than fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. Despite some spectacular catastrophes, nuclear power plants are among the safest mode of electricity generation, comparable to solar and wind power plants.

"The first time that heat from a nuclear reactor was used to generate electricity was on December 21, 1951, at the Experimental Breeder Reactor I, feeding four light bulbs." (Wikipedia)

"1. EBR-I was a liquid metal-cooled fast reactor designed to demonstrate that it could create more fuel than it consumed. Not only do liquid metal coolants like sodium – or the sodium-potassium alloy used in EBR-I – transfer heat better than the light-water reactors in the current fleet, but they also have a more sustainable fuel cycle over a longer period of time," the Department of Energy says.

2. On December 20, 1951, EBR-I became the first power plant to produce usable electricity through atomic fission. It powered four 200-watt lightbulbs and eventually generated enough electricity to light the entire facility.

7. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared EBR-I a National Historic Landmark.

9. It’s the first nuclear power plant museum. The Experimental Breeder Reactor-I Atomic Museum offers free guided tours. It’s an experience like no other. It’s open seven days a week, Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Visiting hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m."

"In the course of developing nuclear weapons the Soviet Union and the West had acquired a range of new technologies and scientists realised that the tremendous heat produced in the process could be tapped either for direct use or for generating electricity," the World Nuclear Association says.

"It was also clear that this new form of energy would allow development of compact long-lasting power sources which could have various applications, not least for shipping, and especially in submarines.

The first nuclear reactor to produce electricity (albeit a trivial amount) was the small Experimental Breeder reactor (EBR-1) designed and operated by Argonne National Laboratory and sited in Idaho, USA. The reactor started up in December 1951."

"Have you ever seen a nuclear reactor? Ever wonder how electricity is generated from nuclear energy? Satisfy your curiosity by visiting the EBR-I Atomic Museum, located on U.S. Highway 20/26 between Idaho Falls and Arco," the Idaho National Laboratory says.

"The facility, a National Historic Landmark where usable electricity was first generated from nuclear energy in 1951, is the only place in America you can see four nuclear reactors — including two aircraft nuclear propulsion prototypes, a reactor control room and much more.

"The museum also includes colorful, interactive displays that tell the story of EBR-I’s sibling, Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 2 (EBR-II), the reactor that once powered much of the site, operated with a novel closed fuel cycle and demonstrated its inherent safety. You can walk through the museum using the self-guided tour instructions, or take a guided tour with one of the summer season tour guides."

"For better or worse, nuclear power plants can be found the world over. But they all got their start from Idaho’s Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I), the world’s very first atomic power plant, which is now a nuclear museum where anyone can simply waltz in and see the inner workings of splitting atoms," the Atlas Obscura says.

"EBR-I first powered up in 1951 to provide juice to four symbolic lightbulbs in a test to see whether usable electricity could actually be culled from a nuclear reaction. The experiment was a success, and the facility went on to power its whole building with nothing but its toaster-sized nuclear core. With the breeder reactor (a type that produces more fuel than it uses) a proven concept, it was only a few years before working nuclear reactors began popping up around the world.

"The EBR-I continued to burn until 1964, never acting as a public plant but instead as a test bed for experimenting with the new energy source. When the site was decommissioned it was turned into a museum devoted, essentially, to itself, and the history of nuclear energy in general. Visitors can step inside the control room with its banks of strange vintage buttons and dials that once could have caused a national disaster, and get up close with the turbines that once ran off the steam of giant fuel rods."

"EBR-I Atomic Museum

"Have you ever seen a nuclear reactor? Ever wonder how electricity is generated from nuclear energy? Satisfy your curiosity by visiting the Experimental Breeder Reactor-I (EBR-I) Atomic Museum, located on Highway 20-26 between Idaho Falls and Arco.

"The facility, a National Historic Landmark where usable electricity was first generated from nuclear energy in 1951, is open to the public.

"You’ll see four nuclear reactors, including two aircraft nuclear propulsion prototypes, a reactor control room, remote handling devices for radioactive materials, and radiation detection equipment. Learn how electricity is produced from splitting atoms and see numerous explanatory displays and exhibits," the Visit Idaho says.

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