It’s Monday, and that’s when we like to take a look at current business issues that are trending across our state and discuss them with one of our fellow news media friends. This week, Mike Switzer interviews Alan Cooper, founder and editor of three online business news websites in South Carolina: MidlandsBiz, UpstateBizSC, and LowCountryBizSC. Alan tells us about the opportunities for SC to participate in the new growth of the nuclear energy industry.
TRANSCRIPT:
Switzer: Hello and welcome to another edition of the South Carolina Business Review. This is Mike Switzer. It's Monday, and that's when we like to take a look at current business issues that are trending across our state and discuss them with one of our fellow news media friends. This week we have Alan Cooper, founder and editor of three online business news websites in South Carolina, Midlands Biz, Upstate Biz SC and Lowcountry Biz sc. Alan, welcome back to the program, Mike.
Cooper: Thanks for having me.
Switzer: So tell us what's showing up on your radar this week?
Cooper: What's showing up on my radar is what I'd like to position as, potentially one of the biggest economic opportunities that South Carolina could see over the next 50 years. I did an interview with a gentleman, works for a company called Dominion Engineering. It has nothing to do with Dominion Energy. This is a consulting firm that is helping businesses build new nuclear power plants. We've been talking about this nuclear resurgence. There's just been a complete shift in people's minds about nuclear power. We know that we need power to fuel all these data centers and the new manufacturing coming to the state and more people coming here. There's a huge demand for energy and the shift has happened in people's mindset about nuclear. Whereas before be hard pressed to find a community that would like to have a nuclear power plant, now states are kind of very open to this. Mike, here's what he was mentioning. Over the next 50 years or so, the projection is that there will be hundreds of new power plants built around the world. So some of the projections are in the 300, 400 or 500 new nuclear power plants. And I think the question is, Mike, is South Carolina in a position to capitalize and take on some of this new business as huge opportunity in, the nuclear industry?
Switzer: Well, well, I think so, because actually, I think we might have talked to the same person, Craig Stover, senior director for new nuclear deployment at Dominion Engineering. That's who you talked to? Yes, yes. And so I interviewed him back in May, and, he brought to our attention that the American Nuclear Society recently named our state third in the nation for nuclear power production. So, he seemed to believe, and his company believes, that that puts us in a pretty good position for nuclear energy growth.
Cooper: Yeah. And he does mention a couple of other things about the assets that we already have. So half of our nuclear, half of our power here in the state is generated already through nuclear power. We already have Westinghouse, who's been here for, decades, producing the fuel that goes into nuclear power plants. And Mike, just at the end of September, are we positioning ourselves to capitalize on this business? Well, what one of the key components is going to be the workforce. And what we saw come out of the the nuclear Power summit at the end of September was a partnership between the University of South Carolina School of Engineering and Westinghouse to, to combine to train, get South Carolina prepared for all the opportunities that are going to come in terms of workforce, in this new industry. So that's a key component of it is the workforce.
Switzer: Well you know, Westinghouse almost went under because of that SCANA, fiasco with that nuclear plant in Jenkinsville, that had to close. But yeah, so I mean it's looking good with the energy situation across the globe right now. Nuclear energy is looking pretty good.
Cooper: Yeah. So the, the other part of it is trying to out compete other states because we're not going to be the only state that is wants to capitalize on this business. So there's already nuclear power summits going on in other states, in Texas, in Tennessee, all over the country. Other states are aggressively going after competing for this nuclear investments. So what is South Carolina doing to support this? That's one of the questions that we need to ask and how can we also communicate this opportunity to supporting businesses, businesses that are currently here, manufacturers that could shift some of their production into the construction of these new nuclear facilities. there's just an amazing opportunity and as Craig said, he really feels like this is a once in a generation opportunity for South Carolina. So we just need to put all these pieces in place so that we can capitalize on it.
Switzer: Sounds good to me Alan. Thank you so much for your time today.
Cooper: Mike, thanks.
Switzer: Alan Cooper is founder and editor of three online business news websites in our state. We will have links to all of those posted at our webpage so you can learn more SouthCarolinaPublicRadio.org where you can hear this show again, and you can find us wherever you find podcasts. With the South Carolina Business Review, this is Mike Switzer.
The views expressed on the South Carolina Business Review do not necessarily reflect those of South Carolina Public Radio. South Carolina Business Review transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of South Carolina Business Review’s programming.
