A decade ago, there were two large nuclear power plant construction projects ongoing in the US. There was the Vogtle 3 & 4 project in Georgia, and the V. C. Summer 2 & 3 project in South Carolina. Vogtle 3 and 4 were finished and are operating today, but Summer 2 & 3 stopped construction in 2017, in large part because of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Westinghouse.
Now, Santee Cooper, the owner the Summer site, is asking for proposals from interested parties to complete the project.
From the article: The company has launched a process seeking proposals to acquire and complete, or propose alternatives, for the two partially constructed generating units. Parties that are “interested in acquiring the project and related assets, and potentially completing one or both units or pursuing alternative uses of the assets” have until 5 May to respond to a Request for Proposal being conducted on behalf of Santee Cooper by Centerview Partners LLC.
This is no easy project to complete. It would cost about $20 billion for both units. It would need Westinghouse and Bechtel to finish building the 2 units and some other company to operate the units. Will Trump’s DOE make a $12 billion loan guarantee like Vogtle 3&4 got from DOE?
Fossil fuel companies do not like nuclear energy and will try to persuade Trump to do nothing to help.
There appear to be interested buyers. The sale may go forward, if the terms are good for both sides.
From the link: MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – Santee Cooper has received a robust response to its initial request for expressions of interest related to the two partially constructed generating units at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. The process was launched on Jan. 22 to gauge interest by others in acquiring and completing the units or proposing other alternatives.
Entities submitting proposals represent leading construction, financial, utility, and technology firms from around the world.
“Santee Cooper is pleased with the level of response by industry leaders to this initial step in what will be a deliberate process related to the future of these two units,” said Jimmy Staton, President and CEO. “The depth and breadth of experience represented by the responding entities is encouraging, and we are committed to giving the review of responses the level of seriousness that it needs and deserves.”