<P> From the successful naval reactor program , plans were quickly developed for the use of reactors to generate steam to drive turbines turning generators . In April 1957 , the SM - 1 Nuclear Reactor in Fort Belvoir , Virginia was the first atomic power generator to go online and produce electrical energy to the U.S. power grid . On May 26 , 1958 the first commercial nuclear power plant in the United States , Shippingport Atomic Power Station , was opened by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of his Atoms for Peace program . As nuclear power continued to grow throughout the 1960s , the Atomic Energy Commission anticipated that more than 1,000 reactors would be operating in the United States by 2000 . As the industry continued to expand , the Atomic Energy Commission 's development and regulatory functions were separated in 1974 ; the Department of Energy absorbed research and development , while the regulatory branch was spun off and turned into an independent commission known as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( USNRC or simply NRC ) . </P>
<P> From the successful naval reactor program , plans were quickly developed for the use of reactors to generate steam to drive turbines turning generators . In April 1957 , the SM - 1 Nuclear Reactor in Fort Belvoir , Virginia was the first atomic power generator to go online and produce electrical energy to the U.S. power grid . On May 26 , 1958 the first commercial nuclear power plant in the United States , Shippingport Atomic Power Station , was opened by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of his Atoms for Peace program . As nuclear power continued to grow throughout the 1960s , the Atomic Energy Commission anticipated that more than 1,000 reactors would be operating in the United States by 2000 . As the industry continued to expand , the Atomic Energy Commission 's development and regulatory functions were separated in 1974 ; the Department of Energy absorbed research and development , while the regulatory branch was spun off and turned into an independent commission known as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( USNRC or simply NRC ) . </P>
when did the us start using nuclear energy
when did the us start using nuclear energy
April 1957
April 1957