South Carolina power provider Santee Cooper is looking for buyers to complete construction on a pair of nuclear reactors, which have sat unfinished since the utility abandoned the project in 2017.

The project was first proposed in 2007, but was shut down a decade later following a series of delays and budget issues, leaving the reactors less than 40% built despite costing roughly $9 billion. According to The New York Times, Santee Cooper is now working with an investment firm to accept proposals from buyers through May 5, in hopes of capitalizing on the recent boom in demand from tech companies looking to use nuclear reactors to power artificial intelligence data centers. 

“We are seeing renewed interest in nuclear energy, fueled by advanced manufacturing investments, AI-driven data center demand, and the tech industry’s zero-carbon targets,” Santee Cooper CEO told the Times. 

Between September and October 2024, Microsoft, Google and Amazon each signed agreements to develop and operate nuclear reactors for their respective data centers. As part of its own deal, Microsoft is planning to restart Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island plant by 2028, nearly 50 years after a meltdown at the facility that many believe stalled the progress of nuclear power in the U.S. for decades. As energy-hungry AI technology has continued to grow, though, demand for cleaner alternatives has risen in kind.