Efforts to build two state-of-the-art nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Plant in Fairfield County have gone inert.
Citing escalating costs, uncertainty over tax credits and the amount of Toshiba's recent financial pledge, SCANA Corp., the majority partner at V.C. Summer, said in a statement it plans to file a notice of abandonment with state regulators.
The decision follows a similar by minority partner Santee Cooper to suspend construction efforts. Santee Cooper said doing so would save its customers $7 billion...
...Green groups opposed to V.C. Summer declared victory shortly after news the reactors would be abandoned became public.
“We applaud Santee Cooper and SCE&G for making the right decision to protect their customers," Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said in a statement.
"This project has been a multi-billion dollar disaster," Smith continued. "We also call on Georgia Power and their utility partners to protect their customers from the similarly risky, mismanaged project in Georgia at Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle.”
Representatives for Friends of the Earth, which has also called for a V.C. Summer shutdown, say consumers who helped pay for the reactors deserve refunds.
"The damage that this bungled project has caused to ratepayers and the state’s economy must be promptly addressed by SCE&G, Santee Cooper and regulators and all effort must be made to minimize that damage," Tom Clements, a senior advisor for Friends of the Earth, said in prepared comments.
"It’s time for money to be refunded as it was collected from them under the false pretense that advance payment for the nuclear project was sound," Clements said...
complete article: SCANA, Santee Cooper pull plug on V.C. Summer | News | aikenstandard.com