Duke Energy Picks Potential Site in S.C.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Duke Power Co. and Southern Company have selected a site in South Carolina for a potential new nuclear power plant in one of the first orders for a new nuclear plant in the U.S. in more than 30 years, the companies said Thursday.

Duke Power, the electric utility subsidiary of Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp., will be the developer and licensed operator of a potential plant co-owned by Atlanta-based Southern Company, the companies said in statements.

The companies said they expect to submit an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in late 2007 or early 2008. The companies will decide later whether to proceed with plant construction.

“We identified multiple sites in our service territory as good locations for a possible new station,” Duke Power chief nuclear officer Brew Barron said. “After months of review, the Cherokee County site was selected.”

The site is in the Cherokee Falls community near Gaffney, S.C.

Cherokee County last year approved an incentive package that offered a 50 percent break on property taxes if the nuclear plant is based there.

In January, Progress Energy said it will consider building a nuclear reactor at the Shearon Harris plant about 25 miles southwest of Raleigh. Progress Energy operates four nuclear reactors in Carolinas and Duke has three.