While headlines from a recent Santee Cooper board meeting centered on the revival of a long-abandoned nuclear project, South Carolina consumer watchdogs are focused on another development — a planned natural gas plant in rural Colleton County where costs are soaring.
According to utility staff, the price tag for the 2,200-megawatt plant at Canadys Station has doubled from $2.5 billion to $5 billion since state lawmakers approved a partnership between state-owned Santee Cooper and Dominion Energy on the project earlier this year.
Utility officials say the price spike was driven by strong regional demand for gas plant equipment and workers, both of which are in short supply as states scramble to retire dirty coal plants while meeting rapidly growing energy demands due to AI data centers and rising population growth.
Environmental and ratepayer advocates, who question the wisdom of building a massive new fossil fuel plant even as the shift to clean energy is gaining momentum, were quick to pounce.
“This project hasn’t even scratched ground and the cost has already doubled,” said Eddy Moore, a Charleston greenhouse gas emissions specialist with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “That’s a huge concern for ratepayers.”
Nevertheless, utility officials contend the project will still be a good deal for ratepayers, producing energy at about $2,300 per kilowatt, slightly less than the $2,400 per kilowatt they say is common for similar projects.
What’s more, they argue, natural gas is the cleanest currently available power source capable of meeting the state’s growing energy demands — a bridge fuel that can provide 100% reliability as clean energy options mature and are brought online.
Moore, however, said that with renewable energy and battery technologies improving rapidly, the boom in natural gas plant construction may represent a “bubble.”
“There’s a real danger we’ll find ourselves buying the top of the bubble — and potentially paying for maybe the second most expensive gas plant in history,” Moore said.
About that nuclear project
At the same meeting, Santee Cooper announced it is entering into negotiations to sell two partially constructed reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station to Brookfield Asset Management.
Santee Cooper took possession of the reactors in 2017 after the project collapsed in a scandal that bankrupted the state’s largest private utility and saddled taxpayers and ratepayers with $9 billion in losses.
Spokesperson Mollie Gore told the Charleston City Paper that the utility will pursue three priorities in its negotiations with Brookfield.
“The goal is to enable completion of those units at no additional taxpayer or ratepayer expense, provide some financial relief to our customers and gain additional power capacity for the state,” she said.
“Brookfield’s proposal, and the resources and experience it brings, made it the clear choice for completing these units and accomplishing our goals.”
Beaufort Republican Sen. Tom Davis, whose 2017 legislation required the reactors to be preserved for possible completion in the future, echoed that assessment.
“Having someone like Brookfield, an equity capital firm with a trillion dollars in assets and years of experience in energy generation, it’s beyond anyone’s most optimistic expectations to get a bidder like that.”
Beyond that, he noted, a deal with Brookfield would create the first privately funded nuclear project in U.S. history, setting a template for the country as it rushes to bring new power online to support AI development — a Trump-identified national security priority.
“It’s just a complete 180 [degree turn], taking what has been a source of shame into a source of tremendous pride,” Davis said. “And I think Santee Cooper and the people of South Carolina can take a lot of satisfaction in that and ought to be proud of themselves.”
Still, longtime nuclear power skeptics like Tom Clements, director of Savannah River Site Watch, argue that supporters are overlooking substantial obstacles that still lie ahead, including costs and permitting.
As for the process, he argues ratepayers and citizens need a seat at the table before any final decisions are made.
“As the public was so abused during the V.C Summer construction project, they now deserve a voice in raising concerns about proposals concerning rebirth of the project,” Clements said. “The restart effort could once again saddle customers with additional massive costs if V.C. Summer 2.0 proceeds.”
According to an Oct. 24 Santee Cooper release, the Canadys Station natural gas plant is expected to be operational in the early 2030s. Regarding the nuclear restart, Santee Cooper and Brookfield are currently in a six-week “project feasibility period,” during which the parties will jointly appoint a project manager, evaluate construction providers and work toward a memorandum of understanding to move forward.
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