$2.7B sale of idled SC nuclear reactors marks ‘a major step forward’
The global investment firm that’s aiming to finish the two partly built reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant is working with a Midlands energy company to take the $2.7 billion deal to the next phase.
Santee Cooper announced the creation of the new project management business on May 4, describing the move as “a major step forward “ in its effort to sell a majority stake in the power units to Brookfield Asset Management.
The terms of a definitive agreement are still being finalized, according to the state-owned utility.
Brookfield is launching the yet-to-be named startup with The Nuclear Co., which announced plans last year to create 100 jobs by opening its engineering and construction office in Columbia.
“This new entity will engage the best of both companies in the key tasks ahead: completing the ongoing detailed feasibility study and, if Brookfield makes a … decision to move forward, managing overall execution of the project,” Santee Cooper said Monday.
The partnership also plans to work with owners of other power plants worldwide that are equipped with reactors made by Westinghouse Electric Corp.
“This action brings us closer to our goal of delivering lasting value for our customers by enabling completion of these two nuclear units,” Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton said in a written statement. “We chose Brookfield to lead that effort based on its tremendous financial expertise and industry resources. TNC brings complementary strengths to the new company that will serve the project well, and their involvement amplifies South Carolina’s role leading a national nuclear resurgence.”
After a nine-month search that drew 15 formal proposals, Santee Cooper began negotiations with Brookfield in late October and approved a memorandum of understanding on Dec. 8. Among other milestones, a key term was that a project management firm be selected.
The agreement also establishes how and when Brookfield will make its “final investment decision,” which could take another 18 months. The exact timing must be submitted by June 26.
“The project is one of the most execution-ready nuclear development opportunities in America,” Brookfield said in a prepared statement Monday.
Santee Cooper plans to retain a 25 percent stake in the Westinghouse AP1000 reactors if the sale goes through.
The Moncks Corner-based utility was a co-investor in the ill-fated expansion of the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in rural Jenkinsville with South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., now part of Dominion Energy. The deal promised to generate carbon-free power for residents and businesses across the state for decades.
The $9 billion debacle was abandoned in July 2017 after years of construction delays, mismanagement, cost overruns and fraud that sent several high-level SCE&G and Westinghouse executives to prison.
Santee Cooper assumed full ownership of the two unfinished reactors in 2018. It said it has maintained the project site and preserved much of the equipment that had been purchased.
The utility announced in January 2025 a plan to test the market about a possible sale to help offset some of the roughly $3 billion in debt that’s been passed from the project to its ratepayers.
The decision to revive what has been described as South Carolina’s costliest business failure is being driven by a unprecedented spike in demand for electricity — especially clean, renewable power.
Timing also was a factor. Santee Cooper has said that policy changes under the Trump administration have made the economics of nuclear energy more favorable.