$80B nuclear investment may help revive S.C. project

STATEHOUSE REPORT | ISSUE 24.44 | Oct. 31, 2025

BIG STORY

$80B nuclear investment may help revive S.C. project

By Jack O'Toole, Capitol bureau | Efforts to revive a scandal-scarred South Carolina nuclear power project got a major boost this week from the Trump administration as federal officials announced an $80 billion deal to jump-start new nuclear construction in the U.S.

Under the agreement, which was announced Oct. 28, Westinghouse and its corporate owners, Brookfield Asset Management and Cameco, will receive federal support and expedited permits to build several of the company's AP1000 nuclear reactors to help power energy-hungry AI data centers around the country.

"This historic partnership with America's leading nuclear company will help unleash President Trump's grand vision to fully energize America and win the global AI race," U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a release. "President Trump promised a renaissance of nuclear power, and now he is delivering."

Just days earlier, on Oct. 24, state-owned utility Santee Cooper announced that it is entering into negotiations to sell two partially constructed AP1000 reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station to Brookfield Asset Management. Santee Cooper took possession of the reactors in 2017, after the project collapsed in a scandal that bankrupted the state's largest private utility and saddled ratepayers with $9 billion in losses.

Santee Cooper spokesperson Mollie Gore said the utility will pursue three priorities in the Brookfield negotiations.

"The goal is to enable completion of those units at no additional taxpayer or ratepayer expense, provide some financial relief to our customers and gain additional power capacity for the state," Gore told Statehouse Report on Oct. 30.

She added, "Brookfield's proposal, and the resources and experience it brings, made it the clear choice for completing these units and accomplishing our goals."

Beaufort Republican Sen. Tom Davis, whose 2017 legislation required the reactors to be preserved for possible completion in the future, echoed that assessment.

"Having someone like Brookfield, an equity capital firm with a trillion dollars in assets and years of experience in energy generation, it's beyond anyone's most optimistic expectations to get a bidder like that."

And while the federal and state deals with Brookfield would technically be separate, he said, it would be reasonable to see them as connected on a practical level.

"You have a lot of economies of scale there, particularly with supply chains and specialized workers, where Brookfield's contract to do the one is likely going to facilitate and expedite its ability to do the other," he said.

Beyond that, he noted, a deal with Brookfield would create the first privately funded nuclear project in U.S. history, setting a template for the country as it rushes to bring new power online to support AI development — a Trump-identified national security priority.

"It's just a complete 180 [degree turn], taking what has been a source of shame into a source of tremendous pride," Davis said. "And I think Santee Cooper and the people of South Carolina can take a lot of satisfaction in that and ought to be proud of themselves."

Nevertheless, longtime nuclear power skeptics like Tom Clements, director of Savannah River Site Watch, argue that supporters are overlooking substantial obstacles that still lie ahead.

In a 24-page report released Oct. 20, Clements identifies what his group calls 14 "daunting challenges" facing any effort to complete the project, including costs, permits and safe disposal of the nuclear waste the reactors will produce.

"I urge politicians to cool down the bluster and unleash some common sense regarding the restart idea and review the challenges," Clements said in a release.

As for the process, he argues ratepayers and citizens need a seat at the table before any final decisions are made.

"As the public was so abused during the V.C Summer construction project, they now deserve a voice in raising concerns about proposals concerning rebirth of the project," Clements said. "The restart effort could once again saddle customers with additional massive costs if V.C. Summer 2.0 proceeds."

Under an Oct. 24 letter of intent, Santee Cooper and Brookfield are currently in a six-week "project feasibility period," during which the parties will jointly appoint a project manager, evaluate construction providers and work toward a memorandum of understanding to move forward.

MORE NEWS

Cost doubles for planned Colleton Co. natural gas plant

By Jack O'Toole, Capitol bureau | While headlines from a recent Santee Cooper board meeting centered on the revival of a long-abandoned nuclear project, South Carolina environmentalists were focused on another development — rising costs for a planned natural gas plant in rural Colleton County.

According to utility staff, the price tag for the 2,200-megawatt plant at Canadys Station has doubled from $2.5 billion to $5 billion since state lawmakers approved the collaboration earlier this year.

Utility officials say the price spike was driven by strong regional demand for gas plant equipment and workers, both of which are in short supply as states scramble to retire dirty coal plants while meeting rapidly growing demand due to AI data centers.

"This project hasn't even scratched ground and the cost has already doubled," said Eddy Moore, a greenhouse gas emissions specialist with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "That's a huge concern for ratepayers."

Nevertheless, utility officials argue the project will still be a good deal for ratepayers, producing energy at about $2,300 per kilowatt, slightly less than the $2,400 per kw they say is common for similar projects.

Moore, however, argues that with renewable energy and battery technologies improving rapidly, the boom in natural gas plant construction may represent a "bubble."

"There's a real danger we'll find ourselves buying the top of the bubble — and potentially paying for maybe the second most expensive gas plant in history," Moore said.

According to an Oct. 24 Santee Cooper release, the Colleton County plant is expected to be operational in the early 2030s.

ROBERT ARIAIL'S LOWCOUNTRY

One of those

Award-winning cartoonist Robert Ariail has a special knack for poking a little fun in just the right way. This week, he takes a look at costumes potentially worn by some young Republican national leaders.

COMMENTARY

Stop weaponizing hunger, federal workers to score points

By Andy Brack | Republicans in Washington – members of Congress in particular – should be ashamed of themselves for using the federal government shutdown to score political points.

They are weaponizing hunger to avoid dealing with a coming health care crisis of their own making.

Republicans are also weaponizing the livelihood of more than 2 million civilian federal workers by not paying them during the shutdown. It's still unclear if more than 1 million active-duty military personnel will be paid in the coming days. Again, it's all because members of Congress aren't doing their jobs. President Trump isn't helping with his lack of leadership, petulance, recalcitrance and what some would call just plain meanness.

Furthermore, it's perfectly clear why the U.S. House has been out of session for the last five weeks – to allow House Speaker Mike Johnson to keep from swearing in Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who was elected Sept. 23. She would tip the balance on a vote to release the Epstein files – exactly what Trump and Johnson don't want to do because it likely would be really bad for the president.

Bottom line: What's happening in Washington is wrong. People are being hurt and democracy is sputtering.

Across the country, people are getting hot under the collar.

In South Carolina, S.C. Rep. J.A. Moore, D-North Charleston, is upset: "While our families here in the Lowcountry are wondering how they're going to eat this weekend, Congress refuses to do their damn job. This is a choice. Republicans have decided that millions of Americans going hungry is worth it while funding billions of dollars for war overseas. They don't care about us and they've failed us over and over again.

"These people in Washington D.C., have left us behind. I, for one, am tired of waiting on them to change. We must demand more."

Even conservative U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is imploring his colleagues to break the stalemate to keep open the federal nutrition assistance program that feeds 42 million Americans who earn $42,000 a year or less for a family of four at a total cost that is one-tenth of the federal military budget.

"America is a great and wealthy nation, and our most important wealth is our generosity of spirit," Hawley wrote in a recent piece in The New York Times. "We help those in need. We provide for the widow and the orphan.

"Love of neighbor is part of who we are. The Scripture's injunction to 'remember the poor' is a principle Americans have lived by. It's time Congress does the same."

Republican farmers in the nation's breadbasket are tiring of the Washington nonsense. The final straw, according to Politico, came after Trump mused Oct. 19 about importing more beef from Argentina as American cattlemen are struggling.

So this week, 14 key GOP representatives came out of their shells to write this to the administration: "We believe strongly that the path to lower prices and stronger competition lies in continued investment at home … rather than policies that advantage foreign competitors."

Also, a handful of GOP senators joined Democrats this week to send clear but symbolic messages to Trump about tariffs that are hurting American farmers and businesses. They voted to reverse 50% tariffs on Brazil and to cancel tariffs on Canada. The problem: the House isn't in session.

America's burning while Trump and the GOP Congress are fiddling. We can't survive three more years of this maelstrom.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper.

MYSTERY PHOTO

Three-story building

This three-story building somewhere in South Carolina has some history attached to it. Where is it and what is its significance? Send your best guess – plus hometown and name – to: feedback@statehousereport.com.

Last week's mystery, "Lots of Spanish moss" showed St. Andrews Church in Mount Pleasant, pastoral home to the archbishop of the Anglican Church facing misconduct troubles. Congrats to several sleuths for identifying the church: Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Rebecca Cromer and David Lupo, both of Mount Pleasant; Jay Altman and Jean Prothro, both of Columbia; Bill Segars of Hartsville; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; and Philip Cromer of Beaufort.