Spurred by the recent wave of interest in new nuclear generation, Santee Cooper is seeking a buyer to take over an expansion project halted in 2017 amid extensive cost overruns and delays. 

The South Carolina public power and water utility on Jan. 22 announced the request for proposals for the two unfinished generating units at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. A buyer could propose to complete one or both units or propose alternatives. 

New nuclear generating facilities are a tantalizing prospect in an era in which demand for electricity — and for zero-emissions electricity — is expected to soar. But U.S. projects using traditional nuclear technology have been slow and expensive to complete, and the first advanced-technology projects still are a few years in the future, at best. 

Santee Cooper is pitching V.C. Summer Unit 2 and to a lesser extent Unit 3 as an outlier, with some of the time-consuming work already complete. 

Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton said in a news release: “Considering the long timelines required to bring new nuclear units online, Santee Cooper has a unique opportunity to explore options for Summer Units 2 and 3 and their related assets that could allow someone to generate reliable, carbon emissions-free electricity on a meaningfully shortened timeline.” 

Staton alluded to state officials’ interest in moving the halted project into its next chapter and said: “Although Santee Cooper has no plans to own or operate those units, this process could help identify another entity with a viable alternative that would produce benefits for our customers, support economic development and provide value to the state of South Carolina.” 

It is the only site in the United States that could deliver 2.2 GW of nuclear capacity on an accelerated timeline, Santee Cooper said. It sits within the security envelope of the V.C. Summer site, where Dominion Energy South Carolina operates Unit 1, and there are sufficient land, water and transmission assets on site to accommodate Units 2 and 3. 

Santee Cooper also noted that Units 2 and 3 would use the same AP1000 reactor technology used by Southern Co. at its Plant Vogtle expansion project, about 85 miles away in Georgia. 

Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 have become a frequent talking point for nuclear opponents, far behind schedule and stunningly over budget. 

They came online in 2023 and 2024 with a final price tag north of $30 billion, making their combined 2.43 GW of nameplate capacity some of the most expensive power generation ever built. 

V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 were heading down the same path — South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) spent more than $9 billion on the project before formally ending construction Aug. 17, 2017. 

The fallout continued long after cancellation. Four years later, The Associated Press reported on the third guilty plea to federal criminal charges by executives connected to the project, and on the multiple civil lawsuits filed by ratepayers and others left to foot the bill. 

Like the Vogtle expansion, the V.C. Summer expansion suffered extensive and costly delays and the bankruptcy of lead contractor Westinghouse Electric Co. 

In 2018, SCE&G transferred its majority interest in Units 2 and 3 to minority owner Santee Cooper and Dominion Energy acquired SCE&G parent company SCANA. (See Dominion to Buy Distressed SCANA for $8B.) 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission first licensed V.C. Summer’s 977-MW Unit 1 to operate in 1982, and in 2004 relicensed it to operate into 2042.