AI Data Centers Spark Brookfield's Plan to Revive Abandoned Nuclear Project
Resurrecting V.C. Summer: How the AI Energy Squeeze is Forcing a $20 Billion Mulligan
Dusting off a multibillion-dollar blunder might not sound like a winning corporate strategy, but the insatiable electricity appetite of artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the math on American nuclear energy.
Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) is officially teaming up with startup The Nuclear Company to forge a brand-new atomic development powerhouse. While the joint venture remains unnamed for now, its mission is crystal clear: build a sprawling fleet of next-generation reactors across the United States. To achieve this, the company plans to exclusively utilize reactor designs from Westinghouse Electric Co., an entity conveniently majority-owned by Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE: BEP).
The shiny new venture’s first major target, however, is anything but new. The partnership will step in as the primary project manager to evaluate the revival of South Carolina’s infamous V.C. Summer nuclear plant. For energy industry veterans, that name carries some serious baggage. Back in 2017, state-owned utility Santee Cooper and former co-owner Scana Corp. abruptly pulled the plug on two partially built AP1000 reactors. The project was halted after costs skyrocketed past the $20 billion mark, a financial disaster that ultimately pushed contractor Westinghouse Electric Co. into bankruptcy. For context, the only other domestic attempt at these specific AP1000 reactors, the Vogtle plant in Georgia, finally crossed the finish line in 2024, arriving a mere seven years behind schedule and more than $20 billion over its original budget.
So, why try again? The answer lies entirely in the power grid. Demand for electricity is surging at an unprecedented pace, largely driven by the massive data centers required to train and run modern AI systems. This sudden thirst for zero-carbon baseload power has triggered a nationwide fission renaissance, further bolstered by a massive $80 billion White House initiative explicitly designed to purchase reactors from Westinghouse Electric Co.. Across the country, utilities are already scrambling to restart mothballed plants in Michigan, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. Reviving the already partially built infrastructure in South Carolina simply offers a lucrative, fast-tracked solution to plug reliable power straight into the grid.
The partnership is also stacking the deck with operational expertise to avoid past mistakes. The roster at The Nuclear Company is loaded with seasoned veterans from both the original V.C. Summer and Vogtle projects, bringing the exact construction battle scars needed to get the complex AP1000 systems online.
Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) has been quietly kicking the tires on the South Carolina site since last year and expects to make a final investment decision by late 2027. If the project gets the green light, the proposed deal structure would see Brookfield handing Santee Cooper $2.7 billion to acquire the assets, while the utility retains a targeted 25% ownership stake in the revitalized plant.
Source:
- Wade, Will. "New Brookfield Venture May Restart Abandoned US Nuclear Project." Bloomberg News, May 04, 2026.