A project many South Carolinians wrote off years ago is suddenly back in play, as a private investment firm has stepped forward with a multibillion-dollar proposal that could resurrect the state’s unfinished nuclear reactors.
Brookfield Asset Management has offered $2.7 billion to Santee Cooper in exchange for the chance to complete the two half-built reactors at the V.C. Summer site — a project that collapsed in 2017 after years of delays, cost overruns, and scandal, according to The Associated Press.
The proposal, unanimously approved for negotiations at Santee Cooper’s board meeting on Monday, marks the first serious attempt to salvage the abandoned reactors since construction screeched to a halt. But officials made clear the deal is far from done.
Negotiations between the state-owned utility and Brookfield are expected to stretch up to two years, with both sides facing what leaders described as “thousands and thousands” of technical, financial, and regulatory details. Either party can walk away at any time.
Brookfield, however, agreed to shoulder the cost of reviewing the dozens of bids submitted and the expenses associated with negotiating the final agreement.
If the parties reach a deal, Brookfield would secure at least 75% of the power generated by the completed reactors — electricity the firm could sell on the open market, particularly to energy-hungry data centers.
Santee Cooper’s eventual share would depend on how much additional investment Brookfield must make to get the stalled project operational.
For Santee Cooper, the offer represents a potential financial reset. The utility and former partner South Carolina Electric & Gas poured more than $9 billion into the reactors before abandoning the effort.
The collapse of the project led to criminal convictions for four executives who misled regulators, shareholders, and customers, leaving millions paying for power that never existed.
A vast concrete shell still looms over the rural site north of Columbia — a daily reminder of the collapse of one of the state’s most expensive public failures.
Utility CEO Jimmy Staton said the Brookfield payment would wipe out most of Santee Cooper’s debt tied to the failed reactors.
“Our customers have been paying for these assets since 2017. It’s time they get some value out of that,” Staton said.
The proposal comes as demand for electricity surges nationwide, driven largely by the rapid expansion of data centers supporting artificial-intelligence technology. President Donald Trump’s administration has pushed for the U.S. to quadruple its nuclear-power output over the next 25 years.
Still, watchdog groups warn that optimism should be tempered. After eight years exposed to the elements, every component at the site will require extensive inspection. Permits and operating licenses will likely need to be fully renewed, a process advocates say could take years.
Tom Clements, executive director of Savannah River Site Watch, said the challenges are significant, noting that similar reactor designs have repeatedly run over budget.
Brookfield now controls the nuclear assets of Westinghouse Electric Co., the firm whose struggles helped sink the original project. And Georgia’s two recently completed reactors of the same type exceeded their budget by $17 billion before entering service in 2023.
Whether South Carolina’s unfinished reactors can be revived remains uncertain — but for the first time in years, the possibility is back on the table.
