A new facility would produce clean and economical electricity for South Carolina's residents and businesses.
Duke Power might build a new nuclear plant near Oconee Nuclear Station on the shores of Lake Keowee. Such a project could create hundreds of jobs and provide more inexpensive and clean energy to power South Carolina's future. The site is one of about a dozen being considered in both Carolinas for the first nuclear reactor in more than 30 years.
In many parts of the nation, nuclear power remains politically taboo, but South Carolinians, through long experience, have come to understand that nuclear generation is both safe and economical. A new plant, which probably could not be built before 2010, would cost more than $1 billion and involve hundreds of construction jobs.
That billion-dollar impact would have a economic ripple effect throughout the Upstate. A highly paid staff of 400 also would be hired to operate the plant.
In addition to the Lake Keowee prospect, Duke Power also is part of a consortium of energy companies examining the possibility of building a new commercial nuclear plant at the Aiken-area Savannah River Site. With its long history of making nuclear bomb parts and processing nuclear waste, SRS is a logical location for a new reactor. Sen. Jim DeMint was right in saying that Aiken is "probably one of the few areas in the country where you could come in and say, 'We're going to build a nuclear reactor' and get nothing but a positive response."