U.S. Nuclear Comeback Stalls as Two Reactors Are Abandoned<br />By BRAD PLUMERJULY 31, 2017<br />In a major blow to the future of nuclear power in the United States, two South Carolina utilities said on Monday<br />that they would abandon two unfinished nuclear reactors in the state, putting an end to a project that was once expected to showcase advanced nuclear technology but has since been plagued by delays and cost overruns.<br />Facing those pressures, the two owners of the project, South Carolina Electric & Gas<br />and Santee Cooper, announced they would halt construction rather than saddle customers with additional costs.<br />President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, finalized in 2015, would have given South Carolina<br />and Georgia credit against their state climate goals for finishing the new reactors, which may have persuaded local regulators to stick with the project.<br />The South Carolina utilities selected an advanced reactor design from Westinghouse Electric<br />Company, the AP1000, reported to have more safety features than earlier models.<br />“Many factors outside our control have changed since inception of this project,” Kevin Marsh, the chief<br />executive of Scana Corporation, which owns South Carolina Electric & Gas, said in a statement.<br />Toshiba agreed to pay $2.2 billion in exchange for being released from the South Carolina project, but utility officials said<br />that was unlikely to be sufficient to finish the reactors.
