Commercial atomic energyIn 1960, the first commercial atomic energy reactor, and the third in the U.S., produced power for distribution. This was the $57 million Yankee Atomic Electric Company's plant at Rowe, Mass., on the Deerfield River. The reactor achieved self-sustaining nuclear reaction on 19 Aug 1960. The pressurized light-water reactor produced 125,000 kilowatts of electricity. The company was formed by twelve New England utility companies which signed a contract with the Westinghouse Corporation as the principal contractor. It was permanently shut down on 26 Feb 1992, due to reactor vessel embrittlement, after more than 31 years of service. Decommissioning began in 1993. |
