FAIRFIELD COUNTY, S.C. — South Carolina lawmakers are discussing the viability of the construction site at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, where two nuclear reactors were abandoned in 2017.
The site already has been home to a reactor for 40 years. But a decade and a half ago Santee Cooper and SCE&G (now Dominion Energy) agreed to build two more reactors at the site. They spent billions on the project before walking away from it, a fiasco led to thousands losing their jobs, multiple indictments and convictions of executives, and in part led to SCE&G and its parent company SCANA merging with Dominion Energy.
But at a meeting Wednesday for the Special Committee on South Carolina’s Energy Future, lawmakers discussed several ways to expand the state's energy capabilities. The Committee has heard testimony from utilities, saying the state's energy needs are expanding. They discussed the viability of a proposed gas plant in Candadys near the Edisto River, and restarting construction on the two abandoned reactors at the Fairfield County VC Summer site, which sit alongside one functioning reactor.
"We got to find out as to whether it's even viable in the licenses, because that's a big deal with nuclear plants," said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield. "Where are we on the licenses? What's still available, what's not available? What would it cost to renew or to or to get stuff back in play?"
After the Governor's Nuclear Advisory Council's Jim Little visited the site in September, a report he and Council Chair Rick Lee authored said that the site is in "excellent condition," and "other than some overgrowth there is no apparent degradation of grade or access to facilities."
The failure of the project forced ratepayers to foot the $9 billion bill under the Base Load Review Act, which allowed utilities to raise rates for a project ahead of its construction. Many South Carolinians are still paying for the costs of the project through their monthly utility bills, which never generated a watt of power.
"There is a legitimate need for energy that's real," said Lynn Teague, VP of Issues and Action of the League of Women Voters of South Carolina. "They don't deserve a profit if they ask us to take the risk. And we're not willing. I think most of us are not willing to take a risk again."
Dominion and Santee Cooper would need authorization on a joint-partnership, like the one required for both the Candadys facility and the VC Summer Site.
"I will say that if it were to happen, it should never happen under the conditions of the previous construction," said Lynn Teague, VP of Issues and Action of the League of Women Voters of South Carolina. "They doubtless would have had second thoughts about what they were doing if they had realized their own company was at risk. They're now asking for capital cost tracking, that amounts to the same thing: the public pays before there's a plan."
But Dominion and Santee Cooper are steering clear of any association with the site for now.
In a statement, Dominion Energy spokesperson Rhonda Maree O’Banion said the company "has no plans to restart construction of additional units at V.C. Summer."
Santee Cooper shared similar statements, writing, "We are working with the South Carolina Nuclear Advisory Council and others to provide access so that they can consider a formal evaluation of the site and equipment, but Santee Cooper at this point is not interested in owning or operating those units."