South Carolina’s state-owned utility said this week it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Brookfield Asset Management to do a feasibility study for finishing two incomplete nuclear reactors at the Virgil C. Summer nuclear station.
In October, Santee Cooper approved Brookfield’s proposal seeking to complete the two partially built AP1000 reactors at V.C. Summer in Jenkinsville, S.C. The MOU establishes a feasibility period for completing the units, according to Santee Cooper’s Monday press release.
If completed, the new units at Virgil C. Summer nuclear power plant could generate over 2,000 megawatts of carbon-free electricity, Santee Cooper President and CEO Jimmy Staton said. The South Carolina plant currently has one active unit that produces 973 megawatts.
Under the MOU, Brookfield must determine the initial feasibility and establish a target date for its final investment decision by June 26, 2026, according to the release. Brookfield must also develop a draft economic development plan that considers workforce development by then.
It is expected the parties will take 18 to 24 months to reach the final decision on whether to complete the units.
Santee Cooper would receive $2.7 billion in cash should the parties ultimately commit to building the units, according to the memo. The document also proposes a targeted 25% ownership share for state-owned Santee Cooper, once the units begin operation. Brookfield would own the other 75% of the units.
The operator role is being evaluated, according to a Santee Cooper spokesperson.
Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Power Station’s Unit 1, which began commercially operating in 1984, is a pressurized water reactor with the capacity of 973 megawatts and is run by Dominion Energy. Santee Cooper owns a third of Unit 1, while Dominion Energy owns two thirds.
In a Thursday emailed statement to Exchange Monitor, a Dominion Energy spokesperson told the Monitor that Dominion has no plans to get involved with the restart of the construction of the two V.C. Summer units. But if the project is successfully completed by another party, then it would consider operating the units, the spokesperson said.
The MOU calls for a feasibility committee, made up of two members from both Santee Cooper and Brookfield, which would provide monthly progress reports to Santee Cooper.
According to a study Westinghouse released on Tuesday, the construction phase of the Summer project could generate more than $7.3 billion of gross domestic product (GDP) for South Carolina, while supporting 7,300 jobs yearly. Once operational, the two new units will create an additional $1.6 billion for the state’s GDP and support more than 2,700 jobs yearly, according to the study.
The nuclear expansion project was the center of a legal scandal a few years ago that led to some corporate executives being convicted in federal court on fraud-related charges.
Since the scandal and ultimate cancellation of the new nuclear units, South Carolina power customers are still paying for it, the South Carolina Daily Gazette reported in 2024.