William States Lee III Nuclear Generating Station | |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Location | Cherokee County, near Gaffney, South Carolina |
Coordinates | 35°2′0″N 81°30′40″W / 35.03333°N 81.51111°W |
Status | Cancelled |
Construction cost | $11 billion (estimate) |
Owner(s) | Duke Energy |
Nuclear power station | |
Reactor type | AP1000 |
Reactor supplier | Westinghouse |
Power generation | |
Units planned | 2 × 1117 MW |
The William States Lee III Nuclear Station was a planned two-unit nuclear power plant in Cherokee County, South Carolina. Duke Energy filed the Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) application for the plant on December 13, 2007 to the NRC. On December 19, 2016, the NRC issued two Combined Licenses authorizing Duke to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at the site.[1]
In August 2017, Duke decided to seek permission from the North Carolina Utility Commission to cancel the project due to the bankruptcy of Westinghouse and "other market activity", although they will retain the option of restarting the project at some point in the future if circumstances change.[2]
The plant was named for William States Lee III (1929–1996), former chief executive officer (CEO) of Duke Energy (1982–94). This site would have been be adjacent to the Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant site, which was also never completed and abandoned in the early 1980s, then later used by James Cameron as a film set for the 1989 movie The Abyss.