Fort St. Vrain in Pictures: 6
![The Fort St. Vrain nuclear station completed and in operational service. Press photo in Will Davis collection.](https://cdn.ans.org/cafe/2018/04/Fort-St-Vrain-PR-Photo.jpg)
The Fort St. Vrain Nuclear Generating Station completed and in operational service. Press photo in Will Davis collection.
The initial startup of the Fort St. Vrain station finally happened on January 31, 1974, which was roughly one month after the station had received an operating license from the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). As was the habit in those days with plants that were more experimental in nature than the light water plants, Public Service of Colorado had applied for and been granted by the AEC an operating license under Section 104(b) of the Atomic Energy Act. This provision, ostensibly for medical or for research and developmental reactors, allowed a great deal more operational flexibility to the operators and additionally required far less discussion with and approval by the AEC itself on various matters concerning plant design, operation, administration and developmental testing.