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Santee Cooper reports broad market interest in VC Summer site; bidders to be narrowed after RFI period
Summary
Santee Cooper told the Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council on March 31 that about 79 parties had expressed interest in the VC Summer site and that the authority will narrow that list after an RFI period ending in early May.
Steve Nance, director of nuclear development and technical training at Santee Cooper, told the Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council on March 31 that the authority’s outreach about the VC Summer site has generated broad and sustained market interest.
"As of Friday, it’s 79 parties," Nance said, describing responses to a late‑January interest request that invited qualified firms to review the dormant AP1000 construction and related site assets. He said Santee Cooper and retained advisor Centerview Partners have screened interested parties for financial and technical viability and will narrow the list to a manageable set of suitors for more detailed proposals.
What Santee Cooper said
- Outreach and interest: Nance said Santee Cooper received expressions of interest from a mix of large utilities, data‑center operators, and management/construction firms. He said roughly 40–45 parties have been vetted as having sufficient technical and financial resources to continue dialogue.
- Inventory and condition: Nance described the current status as subject to verification but said Unit 1 nuclear island equipment is roughly 45–48% complete and Unit 2 about 25–30% complete; he said many high‑value components are in climate‑controlled storage and remain serviceable, while exposed commodity items may need replacement.
- Next steps: Santee Cooper expects to close RFI responses in early May and then issue a formal RFP describing the evaluation criteria and transaction formats (sale, partnership, equity, power‑purchase arrangements). Nance stressed the RFP will include explicit evaluation rules and that Santee Cooper is preparing to consider varied deal structures rather than a single sale.
Other points
Nance said transmission infrastructure associated with the project was largely built out during earlier construction, which he described as an advantage for reuse; he also said several transformers and some unit equipment are on site or staged, but noted long national lead times for large transformers (multiple years).
What matters
The project’s commercial structure — outright sale, joint venture, power‑purchase deal or an arrangement with a large data center buyer — will shape pricing, the fate of outstanding debt and what, if any, portion of the historical $2.3 billion allowed into rate base by the PSC in 2019 is ultimately borne by ratepayers. Nance and council members agreed the legislature and ORS will likely have oversight and interest as any transaction proceeds.
Ending
Santee Cooper said it will continue to field site visits, maintain a public project portal and work with Centerview to evaluate formal proposals; council members asked Santee Cooper to keep legislative leaders and ORS informed as proposals are shortlisted.
