By Avi Salzman

The abandoned husk of a partially-built nuclear power project in South Carolina has served for years as a monument to the failures of the last supposed nuclear renaissance.

Now its potential revival could signal nuclear's next golden age.

State-owned South Carolina power company Santee Cooper said on Wednesday it is looking for proposals from companies interested in finishing construction on two nuclear reactors at a site near Columbia, S.C., known as V.C. Summer.

If the project is revived, the biggest winner could be Westinghouse, the company that designed the reactors. Westinghouse is owned by uranium miner Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management. Cameco stock was up 5.2% on Wednesday.

There is one active nuclear reactor at V.C. Summer already, but the story of the rest of that site is a chronicle of failure.

Santee Cooper and a utility known as South Carolina Electric & Gas (now owned by Dominion Energy) abandoned their project to build two more reactors there in 2017 amid financial difficulties that included Westinghouse's bankruptcy filing.

Customers were left on the hook for billions in costs, without ever getting the power that was initially planned. Executives involved in the project pleaded guilty to fraud, and the companies involved settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A Wikipedia page associated with the site calls it "nukegate."

But there are new forces outweighing all those mistakes and misfortunes. Santee Cooper says it is considering reviving the project because power demand is rising across the country, and it is looking for someone to own and operate the plant.

"We are seeing renewed interest in nuclear energy, fueled by advanced manufacturing investments, AI-driven data center demand, and the tech industry's zero-carbon targets," said Santee CEO Jimmy Staton.

And because this power plant is already partially built, it could be completed "on a meaningfully shortened timeline," Staton added. South Carolina state government officials have already investigated the site, and found that it is in decent condition aside from some "surface rust."

Data center owners, which include big tech names such as Microsoft, have been hungering for nuclear power, which is considered both clean and reliable. Already, other left-for-dead nuclear projects are being revived to power data centers, including Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. Amazon.com and Google have also partnered or made investments with start-up nuclear companies building new kinds of reactors.

A few years ago, a project like this would have been unthinkable, because utilities wouldn't want to take on the risk again. But now, it looks more likely.

"I think it's possible, because there are very serious money players talking to nuclear companies," said Seth Grae, chairman of the American Nuclear Society's International Council and CEO of nuclear tech company Lightbridge.

With enough tech dollars behind it, even the rusty remains of "nukegate" can be revived.

Write to Avi Salzman at avi.salzman@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 22, 2025 18:44 ET (23:44 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.