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1960Atomic City <br />The Elk River reactor, as it was generally known in the AEC parlance <br />of the day, was a pioneering effort in America’s nuclear energy <br />history. Hailed widely as “Rural America’s first atomic power plant,” <br />the intention was to provide a pilot installation of a small, simple, and <br />inexpensive nuclear steam supply system that could be duplicated at <br />many far flung locations. Unfortunately for the concept, the Elk River <br />plant in the end proved unable to meet the task for technical reasons; <br />yet, it remains firmly in history as one of the well known early nuclear <br />energy installations. <br />In the late 1980s, GRE's power plant was converted to burn refuse- <br />derived fuel. This innovative source of energy was one factor that <br />helped Elk River receive the designation of "Energy City" by the <br />Minnesota Environmental Initiative in October 1997. As Energy City, <br />Minnesota's energy industries demonstrate cutting edge renewable <br />and energy efficient technologies in Elk River. <br />Layers of Legacy | story example <br />24