South Carolina Regulators Give Green Light to 2,180-MW Gas-Fired Power Plant

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Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

The South Carolina Public Service Commission has given the go-ahead for Dominion Energy and state public power utility Santee Cooper to construct a 2,180-MW gas-fired power plant.

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A Substantial Power Source

Earlier this month, the South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC) approved the construction of a 2,180-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power plant in Colleton County, South Carolina. The plant will be built by a joint venture partnership of state public power utility Santee Cooper and Virginia-headquartered Dominion Energy. The facility will be built at the site of Dominion's closed Canadys coal-fired power station, which stopped operating in 2013.

According to Industrial Info Resources data, construction will begin in 2030, putting the plant on track to be completed in 2033--the joint venture's targeted startup date.

Shifting Fuel Sources

In its remarks to the South Carolina PSC, the Sierra Club, which opposes the project, suggested that coal-fired power plants in the state be closed before the new plant begins operations. The PSC did not seize on the idea, and Santee Cooper made no firm promises in this regard, although the company does hope to make natural gas a larger part of its future energy mix.

Santee Cooper's latest integrated resource plan (IRP) noted that coal made up 51% of the utility's energy mix in 2025, while gas accounted for about 25%. The IRP targets a flipping of these percentages by 2040, with natural gas accounting for 55% of Santee Cooper's energy mix, and coal contributing 25%.

Santee Cooper is drawing up plans for certain coal-fired closures, including that of the 1,216-MW Winyah Power Station in Georgetown County.

Nuclear Partnership

Nuclear power also will feature in Santee Cooper's future energy mix, although to a lesser extent in the foreseeable future than natural gas or coal. In late 2025, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Brookfield Asset Management for the completion of the construction of two reactors (units 2 and 3) at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Power Plant in Fairfield County, which currently has one operating reactor.

Santee Cooper began construction of the reactors in 2013, and after delays, cost overruns and the bankruptcy of AP1000 reactor manufacturer Westinghouse, the project was abandoned after around $9 billion had been invested, without leading to a single additional kilowatt of power.

With the push toward increased nuclear generation in the U.S., a partially completed nuclear plant that has been previously permitted and has some infrastructure in place presents a tasty opportunity for investment companies such as Brookfield Asset Management, which now owns a 51% majority stake in Westinghouse, while uranium supplier Cameco holds the remaining 49%. In late 2025, Westinghouse, Brookfield and Cameco set a goal with the federal government to deploy $80 billion of new reactors. That deal came within days of Santee Cooper's MoU with Brookfield regarding the partially completed reactors at the Summer site, which use the Westinghouse reactors.

The MoU stipulates Friday, June 26, 2026, as the date Brookfield must determine the feasibility of completing the project and set a target date for the final investment decision (FID). A draft economic development plan considering workforce, community reach and other issues must also be available June 26.

Santee Cooper is targeting a 25% ownership share of the plant, along with a proportional amount of its capacity. The two AP1000 reactors would generate a combined 2,000 MW. The plant has one operating 966-MW reactor (Unit 1), which will undergo a refueling outage in the first quarter of next year.

Key Takeaways

• The South Carolina Public Service Commission has given the go-ahead for Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper to construct a 2,180-MW gas-fired power plant.
• Santee Cooper hopes to have natural gas as 55% of its energy mix by 2040.
• Santee Cooper has partnered with Brookfield Asset Management to complete the construction of two reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Power Station, construction of which was abandoned in 2017.

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