A South Carolina nuclear advisory panel heard Monday that various feasibility tasks are underway to help a state-owned electric utility decide whether a $2.7 billion investment will be made to complete two partially built nuclear reactors.
The Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Power Station has three units, with only one currently active. The other two were the center of a legal scandal years ago that led to some corporate executives being convicted in federal court on fraud-related charges. Units 2 and 3 were abandoned after $9 billion was poured into the work.
On Monday, Santee Cooper, a utility owned by the state of South Carolina, updated the Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council (GNAC) on its work at Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Power Station (VC Summer), in Jenkinsville, about 30 miles northwest of Columbia.
Utility Chief Operating Officer Mike Finissi said work is progressing, following the company’s October 2025 selection of Brookfield Asset Management to restart the unfinished project, and Brookfield agreeing to conduct a feasibility study two months later, to determine if the facility is ripe for the project.
Brookfield must make that confirmation by June 26, followed by an 18-24 month assessment period to determine a target date for its final investment decision. Finissi said once that decision is made Santee Cooper will receive $2.7 billion toward the debt Santee Cooper accrued. In exchange, Brookfield will receive a 75% ownership stake in the new V.C. Summer, with Santee Cooper retaining 25 percent.
So far this calendar year, Phase 1 at the site has included feasibility work such as cleanup, plant walkdowns, and the establishing of key personnel like a feasibility committee and a project manager. Through the rest of the year, expectations include signed agreements for those roles, a submission from Brookfield of Phase 2 milestones,