Nuclear plant at site of failed SC construction project to operate for decades
Federal regulators have extended the license of the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant, meaning it is authorized to operate until at least 2062, according to a news release from Dominion Energy, the plant’s operator.
The 20-year license extension, approved Monday by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was praised by Dominion officials, who said the nearly 1,000 megawatt nuclear unit will continue to be a “workhorse’’ in providing energy in the coming decades. The nuclear facility, first licensed in 1982, is located in rural Fairfield County north of Columbia.
“V.C. Summer nuclear station has provided reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy for our customers in the Palmetto State for more than 40 years,” Dominion chief nuclear officer Eric Carr said in a news release. “With steady population growth and economic development, South Carolina will continue to need a clean and reliable workhorse like V.C. Summer to power our customers’ homes and businesses around the clock well into the future.”
The nuclear facility provides enough energy to power 242,000 homes. The plant’s current operating license was set to expire in 2042, but now will extend another 20 years. Atomic power has for years been a major source of energy in South Carolina.
The NRC’s decision comes as South Carolina leaders are seeking to restart an expansion project at V.C. Summer that failed eight years ago. The state-owned Santee Cooper utility is now examining whether two partially built reactors should be completed. The project was one of the biggest construction failures in South Carolina history after rising costs, delays and rate increases doomed the effort. Santee Cooper and Dominion’s predecessor, SCE&G, quit the project in July 2017.
But the Legislature is looking at new sources of energy and has been supportive of examining how to restart the expansion. Fourteen entities submitted proposals to potentially restart the project. Santee Cooper found less than five were qualified, the company said. It could be next year before the company makes any decisions on its next move. The state of South Carolina also is looking to establish other new energy facilities, including a large natural gas plant in Colleton County.
This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 11:34 AM.
