Fort St. Vrain

The highest power of a reactor of the HTGR type was 330 MWe in Fort St. Vrain, Colorado. The reactor, started in 1979, had many technical problems, including helium leaks, and did not perform up to expectations. It was shut down in 1989. 

Table 9. The major performance parameters of the Fort St. Vrain HTGR [29,38-40]...

The Fort St. Vrain HTGR was permanently shutdown in August 1988 [41]. The nuclear island performed well dining the reactors 15-year life, although significant problems were encoxmtered with some of the reactors non-nuclear support systems [29,38]. 

Cadwell, J.J., McEachem, D.W., Read, J.W., Simon, W.A. and Walker, R.F., Operational testing highlights of Fort St. Vrain. In Proceeding of the Symposium on Gas-Cooled Reactors with Emphasis on Advanced Systems, Vol. 1, lAEA-SM-200/58, IAEA, Vienna, 1976, pp. 151 163. 

Fort St. Vrain Nuclear Generating Station, Preliminary Safety Analysis... 

Fig. 18. General reactor arrangement of Fort St. Vrain high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. (GA Technologies)...

In the United States, General Atomics was the main promoter of the high-temperature reactor (HTR). The company built one HTR, at Fort St. Vrain, Colorado. It had several other orders, but the program was halted in the mid 1970s. In Germany, the Nuclear Research Center at Jiilich was the focal point for development of the so-called pebble-bed HTR for both electricity production and coal gasification. A 500-megawatt reactor was expected to go on line by 1990 but never did. 

The Fort St. Vrain (FSV) HTGR was designed to produce 842 MW(th) and 330 MW(e). Its operation between 1979 and 1989 provided invaluable fuel performance, fission product release and plentiful data that have been used for further validation of respective calculational tools. Fort St. Vrain represents now the world s first successful decommissioning effort for a long-term operating commercial nuclear reactor. 

The Fort St. Vrain High Temperature Gas-cooled (HTGR) power reactor, operated by Public Service Company of Colorado is located approximately iJO miles north of Denver at the confluence of the South Platte river and St. Vrain creek. It is the only gas-cooled power reactor in the country and while it has had operating difficulties, the nuclear aspects of the design have great promise for the following reasons ... 

Public Service Company (PSC) of Colorado. Amendment to Facility Operating License, Docket 50-267, Fort St. Vrain. Amendment No. 37. PSC, Denver, CO, November 23, 1986. 

The stress-to-strength limits in Table 4.2-22 are not intended to preclude limited cracking which does not reduce the capacity of the elements to perform their required functions and does not affect safety. Analyses and tests of Fort St. Vrain elements have demonstrated that 1) the effect of... 

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