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Nuclear project gets go-ahead for site work |
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Friday, 26 September 2008 |
SCBIZ Daily Staff
COLUMBIA -- South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. has permission to begin site preparation work for the two nuclear reactors it wants to build in Fairfield County.
The state Public Service Commission voted unanimously to give the utility the go-ahead on Wednesday, with the understanding that SCE&G would take on the financial burden of the work. Ratepayers would not be charged for the project if the reactors are not approved, SCE&G assured the panel.
The utility says that preparatory site work, including the relocation of a railroad spur, must start soon, or the $10 billion project will be pushed more than a year behind schedule. SCE&G and Santee Cooper, its partner in the project, hope to have the reactors running by 2016.
SCE&G says that it fears that it will have a base power deficit of up to 450 megawatts without the new reactors by the projected start date. Environmental opponents say SCE&G has done little to encourage energy efficiency and conservation that would make the new reactors unnecessary.
Opponents of the project contended that allowing the utility to do site work in advance would give it a leg up on the approval process. A Dec. 1 hearing is set for the commission to hear SCE&G’s reactor application.
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