Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station

Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Power Station
Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station Unit 1
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationFairfield County, South Carolina
Coordinates34°17′55″N 81°18′53″W / 34.29861°N 81.31472°W / 34.29861; -81.31472
StatusOperational
Construction beganUnit 1: March 21, 1973
Unit 2: March 9, 2013
Unit 3: November 2, 2013
Commission dateUnit 1: January 1, 1984
(40 years ago)
 (1984-01-01)
Construction cost$2.563 billion (2007 USD, Unit 1)[1]
($3.63 billion in 2023 dollars[2])
OwnersDominion Energy South Carolina (two-thirds)
South Carolina Public Service Authority (one-third)
OperatorDominion Energy South Carolina
Employees500
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePWR
Reactor supplierWestinghouse
Cooling towers4 × Mechanical Draft
(intended for Units 2–3)
Cooling sourceMonticello Reservoir
Thermal capacity1 × 2900 MWth
Power generation
Units operational1 × 973 MW
Make and modelWH 3-loop (DRYAMB)
Units cancelled2 × 1117 MW AP1000
Nameplate capacity973 MW
Capacity factor81.11% (2017)
83.9% (lifetime)
Annual net output6552 GWh (2021)
External links
Websitewww.sceg.com
CommonsRelated media on Commons

The Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Power Station occupies a site near Jenkinsville, South Carolina, in Fairfield County, South Carolina, approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Columbia.

The plant has one Westinghouse 3-loop Pressurized Water Reactor, which has received approval of a 20-year license extension, taking the license expiration of Unit 1 from 2022 to 2042. Its cooling water is supplied by the Monticello Reservoir, which is also used by a pumped storage (hydroelectric) unit. The plant utilizes a once-through cooling system.

South Carolina Electric and Gas was also in the process of constructing two Westinghouse AP1000 plants, which had been scheduled to go into service in 2020, but construction on these was abandoned in 2017.

The nuclear power station also includes the decommissioned experimental Carolinas-Virginia Tube Reactor (CVTR) unit, just outside the site of the old town of Parr, SC. The CVTR was a 17 MWe, heavy water reactor.

The plant is named after Virgil Clifton Summer, the former Chairman and CEO of SCE&G.[3]

In August 2023, Dominion Energy applied for another 20-year license extension for Unit 1 beyond 2042, which as of October 2023 is under consideration by the NRC.[4]

  1. ^ "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. United States Energy Information Administration. Archived from the original on 2017-05-19. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  3. ^ "V.C. Summer Nuclear Station", SCANA, retrieved 17 March 2011
  4. ^ "Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc.; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1". Federal Register. 2023-10-16. Retrieved 2024-08-16.