Nuclear Reboot to Bring Thousands of Jobs to South Carolina

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

by WILL FOLKS

***

The private sector reboot of a pair of next-generation nuclear reactors in central South Carolina is projected to create 2,700 permanent jobs and $1.6 billion in annual economic impact over the coming eight decades, according to a newly released economic impact report.

The report – prepared by PwC – also projected an additional $7.3 billion in economic impact (and 7,300 new jobs) during the construction phase of the project, which is scheduled to begin in the coming year and run through 2032.

The two reactors would also provide enough energy to power 1.5 million homes while “supporting the future expansion of South Carolina’s industrial base.”

“Finishing the construction of the two AP1000 units at V.C. Summer can generate major economic impacts for South Carolina, including the creation of thousands of engineering, manufacturing, construction and operations roles while attracting new industries and jobs,” the report (.pdf) noted. “This project can strengthen and diversify South Carolina’s energy portfolio and enhance the state’s grid reliability. Additionally, leveraging the existing partially-built site is estimated to significantly reduce construction costs.”

According to the report, the construction of these two reactors “directly supports” U.S. president Donald Trump‘s executive order from May which vowed “swift and decisive action… to jumpstart America’s nuclear energy industrial base.”

“It is the policy of the United States to expedite and promote to the fullest possible extent the production and operation of nuclear energy to provide affordable, reliable, safe, and secure energy to the American people,” Trump wrote in the order, noting such an approach would “establish America’s energy dominance and accelerate our path towards a more secure and independent energy future.”

***

***

Trump’s order specifically called for ten (10) “new large reactors with complete designs” to be under construction no later than 2030 – which is where the Palmetto State’s two partially completed reactors enter the picture.

To recap: Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s debt-addled, chronically mismanaged, government-run power company, recently chose global asset management firm Brookfield to oversee the restart of the V.C. Summer nuclear generating station expansion project in Fairfield County, S.C. Working with its partners over the next seven years, Brookfield aims to complete two partially constructed, next generation Westinghouse AP1000 pressurized water reactors – each capable of generating an estimated 1,150 megawatts of carbon-free power (enough to power 750,000 homes annually)

A Canadian-based conglomerate, Brookfield acquired Westinghouse following the latter’s 2018 bankruptcy – which was driven in large part by the collapse of the South Carolina reactor project and massive cost overruns at a similar reactor project in Georgia.

The two abandoned Palmetto State reactors were supposed to have been finished in 2017, but the project was eventually scrapped after $10 billion of taxpayer and ratepayer money had already been spent. This politically driven fiasco – which we dubbed “NukeGate” – put private sector provider SCANA out of business and buried Santee Cooper under billions of dollars in debt.

Meanwhile, taxpayer and ratepayers have been picking up the slack ever since…

***

“Units No. 2 and No. 3 at V.C. Summer were supposed to usher in a new era of energy generation in the Palmetto State – producing a combined 2,300 megawatts of clean, carbon-free energy,” we noted in our recent coverage. “Instead, the abandoned project generated nothing but lies, taxpayer debt and higher rates on South Carolina energy customers.”

Out of the ashes of this colossal failure, state senator Tom Davis of Bluffton, S.C. had the foresight to preserve the abandoned site, noting the state had a “fiduciary duty” to the taxpayers and ratepayers who poured their money into the project. Davis also aggressively pushed Santee Cooper to seek out potential buyers for the unfinished reactors “as expeditiously as possible” – which the utility has done.

Davis said he was pleased to see the project moving forward with private sector support and welcomed the anticipated economic benefits.

“It’s projected that Brookfield and other private partners will spend or borrow up to $20 billion to complete these two unfinished reactors,” Davis told FITSNews. “That will obviously have an impact on the state’s GDP and create jobs – both during the construction phase and ongoing operations.”

“Those are great ancillary benefits to bringing these reactors online,” Davis added.

FITSNews has previously hailed Davis’ efforts to salvage something out of the NukeGate fiasco as “commendable.” While other politicians were busy looking in the rearview – pointing fingers and absolving themselves of accountability – Davis was looking forward (and planning accordingly).

While we welcome the reboot of this project with private sector funding, its initial failure as a public-private partnership (one backed by ratepayer guarantees and propped up by taxpayer-funded bailouts) remains a case study in the inefficacy of government-run power companies. Accordingly, we would reiterate our call for Santee Cooper to be privatized – with the proceeds of its sale routed directly to Palmetto State taxpayers.

***

THE REPORT…

(PwC)

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

***

WANNA SOUND OFF?

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.