Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1.4 Million to Advance the Nuclear Technology Industry in the Southeastern United States

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.4 million grant to E4 Carolinas, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina, to support a research and planning project designed to promote the nuclear technology industry and its economic benefits in South Carolina and throughout the Southeast. The EDA grant will be matched with $349,611 in local funds.

“President Biden is committed to creating new opportunities to expand local and regional economies,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “This investment will help bring economic relief and job growth to Charlotte and throughout the southeast region of our country.”

“The Economic Development Administration is pleased to support E4 Carolina’s efforts to develop a strategy that investigates the economic benefits of the nuclear technology industry,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This investment will promote the Southeast as a national and global leader in advanced nuclear power generation and support nuclear technology commercialization efforts.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (COG), Catawba Regional COG, Central Midlands Regional Planning Commission (RPC), Pee Dee Regional COG, Santee-Lynches Regional COG, Lowcountry COG, Lower Savannah COG, South Carolina Appalachian COG, Upper Savannah COG and Waccamaw Regional COG. EDA designates and funds these Economic Development Districts to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.

This project is being funded under EDA’s Assistance to Nuclear Closure Communities program. Closures of nuclear power plants throughout the United States have had a significant impact on the economic foundations of surrounding communities through sudden job losses and a reduction to the local tax base. EDA has a strong history of working with communities facing structural economic adjustments, including those impacted by nuclear power plant closures. In FY 2020, EDA is deploying $15 million appropriated to the agency to support communities impacted by nuclear plant closures.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.