Richland County Council has approved a 40 year tax incentive package for Westinghouse’s planned LEU+ nuclear fuel expansion at its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina. The October 20 agreement requires at least $400 million of investment, while company materials point to nearly $1 billion and commercial scale LEU+ production by 2030.
Under the agreement, the county will lower the facility’s taxable assessment ratio from 10.5% to 4%, freeze its property tax rate for 40 years and grant an extra 10% credit on tax payments for the first four years, according to WIS. According to Westinghouse Electric Company, LEU+ fuel lets reactors run 24 months between refuelings instead of 18, and the expansion would generate a $4.9 billion economic impact across South Carolina over the next decade, based on a University of South Carolina study. The company has said the 275,000 square foot building will sit inside its existing 1,151 acre site. Fuel capacity for the existing reactor fleet is only one part of the supply chain that nuclear growth depends on.
The reactor end of that chain is moving more slowly, as shown by the NuScale small modular reactor plants that Fluor and Sargent & Lundy agreed to design in 2020. NuScale’s 77 megawatt module won Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval in May 2025, and the Tennessee Valley Authority and ENTRA1 Energy signed a nonbinding agreement in September 2025 for up to 6 gigawatts, but NuScale said in its second quarter 2026 results that talks toward a definitive power purchase agreement were continuing. Fluor, an early majority investor in NuScale, has since exited its stake, according to reports.
Westinghouse LEU+ Fuel Facility Expansion Adds a 275,000 Square Foot Building
The new building will manufacture fuel assemblies for LEU+ fuel, according to a Westinghouse FAQ document. It would add 275,000 square feet to a site that already holds 550,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space and more than 1,000 employees.
Westinghouse first announced a center of excellence for LEU+ manufacturing at Columbia in August 2023, citing growing demand for fuel enriched between 5% and 10%, compared with the roughly 3% to 5% used in most reactors today.
The Columbia plant does not enrich uranium. Furthermore, it receives enriched uranium, presses and sinters it into pellets, loads the pellets into rods and assembles the rods into fuel assemblies for reactors in the United States and abroad.
Westinghouse says the facility supplies fuel behind about 10% of US electricity and 50% of South Carolina electricity. Elise Malik, project director for LEU+ manufacturing, told officials earlier this year that the new building would move conversion from wet to dry processes and that Westinghouse does not expect higher emissions.
Westinghouse LEU+ Fuel Facility Expansion Clears Local Zoning and Tax Hurdles
Richland County Council approved rezoning of the land from agricultural to heavy industrial in December 2024, despite a unanimous planning commission disapproval and public opposition. The commission had found the proposal inconsistent with the county’s 2015 Comprehensive Plan, which designates the area for conservation. Speakers from Lower Richland urged the council to reject the request, and some warned that it would remove a mature pine forest.
The county documents require Westinghouse to invest at least $400 million in real property and equipment to qualify for the incentive. In addition, promotional materials obtained by WIS show Westinghouse expects total investment to reach nearly $1 billion.
The building will be licensed through an amendment to the existing Nuclear Regulatory Commission license, which the agency renewed through September 12, 2062. Westinghouse told a state advisory council last year that permitting and amendment work was in progress.
Westinghouse LEU+ Fuel Facility Expansion Schedule Has Shifted Since 2025
Westinghouse said in January 2025 that construction would begin in late 2025, with startup estimated in 2028. A company representative later described a late 2028 timeframe for first LEU+ assemblies, depending on contracts and regulatory approvals.
The latest materials point instead to commercial scale production by 2030. The expansion is separate from a $131 million upgrade program that Westinghouse announced for the same site in 2021.
No construction contractor has been named in the announcements reviewed.
Project Overview
- Project Name: Westinghouse LEU+ fuel manufacturing facility at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF)
- Owner: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
- Location: Bluff Road, Hopkins, Richland County, South Carolina
- Site Size: 1,151 acres, with 550,000 square feet of existing manufacturing and office space
- New Building: 275,000 square feet
- Product: Fuel assemblies for LEU+ fuel, which allows 24 month refueling cycles instead of 18
- Investment: At least $400 million required under the county agreement, with company materials citing nearly $1 billion
- County Incentive: 40 year agreement cutting the assessment ratio from 10.5% to 4%, freezing the tax rate and adding a 10% credit for four years, approved October 20, 2026
- Rezoning: Agricultural to heavy industrial, approved December 2024
- Regulatory Path: NRC license amendment under an existing license that runs through September 12, 2062
- Economic Impact: $4.9 billion across South Carolina over a decade, per Westinghouse, citing a University of South Carolina study
- Schedule: Commercial scale LEU+ production by 2030, against January 2025 plans for startup in 2028
- Workforce: More than 1,000 employees at the site today
- Environmental Claims: Westinghouse says the new facility will discharge less liquid and air emissions than current operations and conserve more than 600 acres on the southern boundary
Project Team
Owner and Operator
Public Bodies
- Nuclear Regulator: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Local Government: Richland County, South Carolina
- State Economic Development: South Carolina Department of Commerce
Academic Partner
- Economic Impact Study: University of South Carolina
Contractors
- Design and Construction Contractor: Not publicly disclosed
Related Project: NuScale Small Modular Reactor Plants
- Reactor Developer: NuScale Power
- Plant Designer and Constructor: Fluor Corporation
- Nuclear Island Designer: Sargent & Lundy
- Plant Developer: ENTRA1 Energy
- Prospective Customer: Tennessee Valley Authority
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