Nuclear energy company to ship reactors through Charleston

Westinghouse Electric Co. has chosen the Port of Charleston to ship equipment needed at its nuclear plant in Jenkinsville, the company announced Tuesday.

Under the deal’s terms, the Port of Charleston will take the cargo through its Columbus Street Terminal. Trains and trucks will carry the equipment to Jenkinsville.

Shipments will begin arriving at the port in December and will continue for more than four years. About 30 ships will deliver more than 24,000 tons of machinery and equipment, the largest pieces weighing 700 tons apiece.

“From a logistics perspective, this is a large, complex and important project,” Carl Rossi, director of global logistics for Westinghouse, said in a news release. “The South Carolina ports authority has approached it very professionally from its inception and has assisted Westinghouse in building a realistic project plan to move our cargo quickly and efficiently to the construction site.”

In 2008, Westinghouse signed a contract with S.C. Electric & Gas Co. to install two of its AP1000 reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. The plant is a partnership between SCE&G and Santee Cooper.