NIRS congratulates the people of South Carolina on today’s cancellation of the Summer 2 and 3 nuclear reactor project. Not only will canceling the Summer project save South Carolinians billions of dollars on their utility bills, it will protect the health and safety of communities throughout the state.
If Summer 2 and 3 had been completed and operated for 60 years as the utilities advertised, they would have generated nearly 2,500 tons of high-level radioactive waste for which there is still no solution, and over 60 million tons of radioactive and toxic waste from mining and milling uranium. The reactors would have produced untold amounts of other radioactive wastes, much of which would be dumped in trenches in the nuclear waste dump in Barnwell County, South Carolina, a 44% African-American community. The reactors would have contaminated the air and water of nearby communities by releasing radioactive byproducts during their routine operations, while exposing the state to the risk of nuclear disasters like Fukushima.
We urge the South Carolina Public Utility Commission to permanently cancel these reactors, and spare utility customers the cost of paying off the $9 billion the companies have unwisely and unjustifiably sunk into the project. At a new estimated cost of $25 billion – nearly double the original budget — no amount of federal bailout money would make Summer 2 and 3 economically viable. This is an opportunity to invest in South Carolina’s clean energy future, tapping its vast solar, off-shore wind, and energy efficiency resources to employ thousands of people and save families and businesses money.
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