Santee Cooper has issued a letter of intent to Brookfield Asset Management to finish construction of two VC Summer nuclear reactors.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The VC Summer Nuclear Project is one step closer to being revived, as state-owned utility Santee Cooper takes a major step toward handing the project to a private company.
Santee Cooper has issued a letter of intent to Brookfield Asset Management to finish construction of two VC Summer nuclear reactors.
“Folks with great access to capital, no risk to the to the consumers here in South Carolina and potential relief, as well as economic development,” said Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Stanton.
Work on the reactors was abandoned in 2017 after customers had spent billions of dollars to fund their construction. Company leaders say the new plan aligns with former President Trump’s executive order encouraging the completion of partially started nuclear projects.
Stanton said the proposal could bring benefits without adding costs for ratepayers.
“What we are doing is expecting a return of some of the value that our customers have already invested in these assets. That’s reflected in this proposal. We are also interested in ensuring that we have adequate capacity for the entirety of the organization that’s included,” Stanton said.
He added that the project would deliver clean energy to the state.
“It will bring 2200 megawatts of clean energy to South Carolina, some of which we would expect our customers will enjoy. More importantly, you’ve seen our plan to meet all of the growth needs here in South Carolina,” Stanton said.
Under the proposal, Santee Cooper would sell the unfinished nuclear units to Brookfield, which would be in charge of completing them.
Environmental activist and longtime nuclear watchdog Tom Clements said there are still major uncertainties about the plan.
“It’s unclear how a business company would be regulated, as if it were a utility before the public service commission. It’s unclear how they how they would sell the electricity. It’s unclear if the equipment that’s been in storage can actually be used, because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not been inspecting it since 2019. It’s unclear how much all this is going to cost,” Clements said.
Over the next six weeks, the two companies will work to develop a memorandum of understanding, where final terms could be shared with the public.