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After the conclusion of World War II, the US sought to discover peaceful means of using nuclear energy and created the Atomic Energy Commission.
In 1974, Congress would put an end to the AEC and split up its duties between the Energy Research and Development Administration and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy -
The AEC chooses a site in Idaho for its National Reactor Testing Station.
A reactor yields the first electricity from nuclear energy more than two and a half years later in Arco, Idaho.
The energy is enough to light four light bulbs.
Arco would later become the first town to be powered by a nuclear powerplant. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy -
President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his "Atoms for Peace" speech before the United Nations. He calls for greater international cooperation in the development of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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President Eisenhower signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the first major amendment of the original Atomic Energy Act, giving the civilian nuclear power program futher access to nuclear technology. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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The first power from a civilian nuclear unit is generated by the Sodium Reactor Experiment at Santa Susana, California. The unit provided power until 1966. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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The nation's first commercial power plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania starts producing energy for nearby Pittsburgh. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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Dresden-1 Nuclear Power Station in Illinois, the first U.S. nuclear plant built entirely without government funding, achieves a self-sustaining nuclear reaction. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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The third U.S. nuclear powerplant, Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station, achieves a self-sustaining nuclear reacton. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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Jersey Central Power and Light Company announces its commitment to the Oyster Creek nuclear powerplant, the first time a nuclear plant is ordered as an economic alternative to a fossil-fuel plant. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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The first nuclear reactor in space (SNAP-10A) is launched by the United States. SNAP stands for Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, located on California's coast between Los Angeles and San Diego, starts producing energy commercially from Unit 1. That unit is almost completely decommissioned, and San Onofre continues operation out of Units 2 and 3.
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The United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and 45 other nations ratify the Treaty for Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 divides AEC functions between two new agencies — the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), to carry out research and development, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), to regulate nuclear power. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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The Sacramento Municipal Utility District's Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating station begins commercial production.
The plant has a capacity of 913 megawatts of power. -
President Jimmy Carter announces the United States will defer indefinitely plans for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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President Carter signs the Department of Energy Organization Act, which transfers ERDA functions to the new Department of Energy (DOE). Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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Legislation ordered the California Energy Commission to do an investigation to evaluate whether it was possible to reprocess fuel rods or safely discpose of nuclear waste. The commission could not find a satisfactory process, and new nuclear facilities were banned in California.
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This accident, the worst of its kind in the US, heightened fears about nuclear energy and spurred reforms.
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DOE initiates the Three Mile Island research and development program to develop technology for disassembling and de-fueling the damaged reactor. The program will continue for 10 years and make significant advances in developing new nuclear safety technology. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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After 25 years of service, the Shippingport Power Station is shut down. Decommissioning would be completed in 1989. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) establishes a program to site a repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste, including spent fuel from nuclear powerplants. It also establishes fees for owners and generators of radioactive waste and spent fuel, who pay the costs of the program. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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California's Diablo Canyon Power Plant comes online, despite concerns over the plant's ability to whithstand seismic activity. Pacific Gas & Electric, the company that owns the plant, claims that it is "one of the strongest structures on the face of the earth."
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The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) is amended. Congress directs DOE to study only the potential of the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, site for disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Source: The History of Nuclear Energy
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After a public referendum, SMUD decides to shut down Rancho Seco. The site was supposed to be completely decommissioned by 2008. But because there isn't a proper disposal option, some radioactive material remains at the site.
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The US Senate gives the go-ahead to develop Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The Department of Energy is currently waiting for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve the construction of the site. That could take up to four years.
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Obama releases an overview of his budget for Fiscal Year 2010, in which he cuts out nearly all funding for a permanent storage facility for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.
The administration has since said that it plans to look for other options beyond Yucca Mountain.
