Entrepreneur Minute – Craig Stover, Dominion Engineering
October 26, 2026
The Who’s on the Move Entrepreneur Minute is an interview series exploring how South Carolina businesses and organizations are innovating to stay competitive in a rapidly changing world. Each episode features leaders from a wide range of industries—including private companies, nonprofits, education, healthcare and manufacturing—who are embracing new ideas, technologies and strategies to drive growth and create lasting impact. In 2026, innovation is no longer optional. Organizations that fail to adapt risk becoming irrelevant, while those that innovate are shaping the future of their industries and communities.
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Craig Stover, Senior Director of New Nuclear Deployment, Dominion Engineering
South Carolina may be on the verge of one of the greatest economic opportunities in its history, driven by a renewed global commitment to nuclear energy. With growing electricity demand, emerging nuclear technologies and potentially trillions of dollars in worldwide investment over the next several decades, the nuclear industry could become a major engine of economic growth. And South Carolina, with its established nuclear infrastructure, engineering expertise, manufacturing base and educational institutions, is well positioned to benefit.
Few people understand this opportunity better than Craig Stover, senior director of new nuclear deployment at Dominion Engineering, an Allied Power company specializing in nuclear engineering and technical services. A South Carolina native and University of South Carolina graduate, Stover began his career working on the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project in Fairfield County. Today, he is helping position Dominion Engineering to support a new generation of nuclear power projects across the United States and around the world.
Stover discusses why nuclear energy is experiencing a resurgence, the extraordinary scale of the potential investment and what it could mean for South Carolina businesses. From manufacturers and engineering firms to construction companies, technical colleges and skilled trades, the opportunities extend far beyond the power plants themselves. But Stover also has a message for South Carolina’s business and government leaders: Other states are competing aggressively for this emerging industry, and the time to act is now.
Below is a full transcription of our conversation with Craig Stover.
MidlandsBiz:
Let’s start with your background. Tell us about your education and your journey into the nuclear industry.
Craig Stover:
I’m originally from Columbia, South Carolina. I still live in South Carolina, in the Fort Mill area. I went to the University of South Carolina and majored in mechanical engineering. Right out of college, I was one of the first 10 people hired on the V.C. Summer project by SCANA to build nuclear plants in Fairfield County.
I was there for six years before moving to the Charlotte area. I then worked for the Electric Power Research Institute for 12 years.
A little over a year ago, I had the opportunity to join Dominion Engineering and start a new engineering division focused on supporting the construction of more nuclear plants.
MidlandsBiz:
You started your career on the V.C. Summer project. What was that experience like, and what did you learn?
Craig Stover:
It was a tremendous opportunity. It’s not very often that somebody right out of college gets hired onto what, at the time, was the biggest project in the history of South Carolina. (The next-largest contract that had ever been signed in the state was to build the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston).
To be one of the first 10 people hired onto the largest project in the history of the state was pretty awesome.
Within six months, we signed our contract to actually build the units. I was there for six years, and by the time I left, there were a couple thousand people working on that site.
Watching it grow from 10 people to a couple thousand was an incredible experience. You learn a lot through that process.
MidlandsBiz:
Give us a brief history of Dominion Engineering and its core business.
Craig Stover:
Dominion Engineering is a nuclear engineering firm. We only do business in the nuclear field. The company was founded in 1980 by three gentlemen who wanted to start a consulting firm. We’re located in Reston, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. Historically, Dominion Engineering has focused on supporting the operating fleet of nuclear reactors in the United States and around the world.
There are approximately 94 operating reactors in this country and more than 400 worldwide. That’s a lot of nuclear plants requiring consulting and engineering support.
We do a lot of what we call specialty engineering. The way I like to describe it is that if you have a really complicated problem to solve, a first-of-a-kind challenge, we’re usually the people you would call. We have laboratories in our facilities where we can bring things in, develop tests and conduct experiments.
That’s been our background. But where the industry is headed now goes well beyond supporting the existing fleet.
We’re about to begin this huge nuclear resurgence, where we’re talking about potentially building hundreds of plants all over the world. That’s really what brought me here.
MidlandsBiz:
You recently participated in the South Carolina Nuclear Summit. What were your biggest takeaways?
Craig Stover:
This was the third nuclear summit in South Carolina. The first one had, I think, about 80 people. Last year, there were more than 400, and this year, more than 600.
That really speaks to the amount of energy — and I realize the pun there — and excitement surrounding nuclear power in South Carolina and across the country.
This year’s summit was sold out. They actually had to turn people away. The Palmetto Nuclear Coalition organizes these events and has done a tremendous job putting South Carolina into the national nuclear conversation.
The world we live in today in the nuclear industry is totally different from the world we knew 10 years ago. Ten years ago, if you talked about building a nuclear plant somewhere, you were probably trying to identify which community would be most accepting of having a nuclear plant. Today, it’s a completely different atmosphere. Communities are actively competing for nuclear plants. They’re competing for nuclear suppliers and trying to attract those investments.
I attended the Texas Nuclear Summit the week before South Carolina’s event, and it was similar in scope and scale. There are also nuclear summits happening in North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana and Nebraska. This is happening all over the country.
The conversation has changed. It’s now about what states are going to do to attract nuclear businesses, create the best business environment and encourage suppliers to locate their headquarters and manufacturing facilities there.
One of the things that really struck me about the South Carolina summit was the number of people who came from major organizations across the country. We even had people flying in from Europe.
To me, what’s happening represents the emergence of a new economy for South Carolina. The challenge is making sure we meet that moment and recognize that we’re competing with other states for where this nuclear economy is going to develop.
MidlandsBiz:
Where does South Carolina stand today, and what do we need to do to compete with other states and countries?
Craig Stover:
South Carolina is in a really good position.
Most people don’t realize that more than 50% of the electricity consumed in South Carolina comes from nuclear power.
We already have a significant number of operating nuclear plants. We also have Savannah River National Laboratory in the Aiken area. There’s already a lot of nuclear expertise and infrastructure here. We have assets to build on.
But when you look at the competition, states are making substantial investments. Texas has invested more than $350 million in nuclear energy initiatives. Tennessee has invested more than $90 million and has attracted something like $7 billion in private-sector investment. Tennessee credits its initial investment with helping attract that private capital. These states recognize the economic benefits of nuclear energy and are putting real money behind their strategies.
South Carolina needs to continue making itself an attractive place to do business. That includes streamlining business operations and creating a strong commercial environment for these companies.
I think South Carolina is already good at that. But the biggest issue comes down to money and investment. Is South Carolina willing to invest in this industry?
If you’re a reactor company or a supplier deciding where to locate a new factory, and Texas and Tennessee are offering investments, grants and other incentives, South Carolina is going to have to compete.
Otherwise, what incentive do those companies have to come here?
MidlandsBiz:
You’ve talked about the enormous amount of private-sector investment flowing into nuclear energy. What role can South Carolina businesses play in developing this new economy?
Craig Stover:
For existing businesses in South Carolina, I think one of the biggest opportunities is simply understanding the nuclear market and what it takes to become a supplier.
Part of our responsibility, as people trying to help the state develop this industry, is educating businesses about the scale of the opportunity.
Let’s say you’re a South Carolina manufacturer that makes pipe for other industries. You may already have the equipment, the people and the manufacturing expertise to supply the nuclear industry. But you might need additional qualifications or certifications to enter that market.
We need to help those businesses understand what those qualifications are, how to put the necessary programs in place and what the potential market looks like.
How much pipe could that company sell to nuclear plants around the world if it had the right qualifications? I think there are tremendous opportunities for existing South Carolina suppliers to enter the nuclear market.
MidlandsBiz:
One of the challenges seems to be communicating the sheer scale of this opportunity. How big could the nuclear economy become over the next 25 to 30 years?
Craig Stover:
If you look at projections for how many nuclear plants the world will need over the next 25 years, the numbers are almost hard to comprehend.
I sometimes tell people it’s almost an unlimited number because the number of plants needed to meet our energy goals is so large. We’re talking about potentially 400 or 500 new nuclear plants around the world. In today’s dollars, that’s something like a $50 trillion investment worldwide. Just in the United States, to meet our stated energy goals, we’re talking about somewhere between 100 and 300 new nuclear plants.
Now, there’s an important distinction between how many plants we need and how many we can actually build. Can the industry support that level of construction? Who’s going to pay for the plants? Where is the financing going to come from? There’s a business side to all of this.
But even if we only build one-tenth of those projections, it’s still an incredible market. That’s the scale of the opportunity we’re talking about.
MidlandsBiz:
What role will Dominion Engineering play in helping bring these new nuclear plants online?
Craig Stover:
One of the things that’s really different about this nuclear resurgence compared with what we’ve seen over the last 40 or 50 years is the technology.
Most of the nuclear plants operating around the world today fall into two categories: pressurized water reactors and
boiling water reactors.
We’ve essentially been operating those two models for about 50 years. But where we’re headed now is very different. We’re looking at potentially 10 new types of reactors, including molten salt reactors, fast reactors, sodium-cooled fast reactors and high-temperature gas reactors.
We don’t need to get into all the technical details of how each one works. The important point is that we’ve been operating two basic models for decades, and now we’re moving toward a much wider range of reactor technologies.
That means there’s going to be a tremendous amount of first-of-a-kind technical development. We’re talking about new designs, new materials and technologies that have to be tested and qualified.
That’s exactly where Dominion Engineering comes into play.
Our role is to help reduce the commercial risks associated with these new designs by providing the engineering, testing and technical expertise needed to support their development.
MidlandsBiz:
What does South Carolina need to do to develop the workforce required for this new nuclear economy?
Craig Stover:
This is a topic I spend a lot of time talking about.
First, I think the recent announcement that the University of South Carolina is partnering with Westinghouse to develop a nuclear innovation and workforce training initiative is fantastic.
It’s great for the state and for the university, and it helps put South Carolina in a leadership position.
There’s obviously going to be a tremendous need for engineers. An operating nuclear plant today may have 500 or 600 engineers working there, although the industry is trying to reduce those numbers through new technologies and designs. But we’re still talking about hundreds of engineers at individual plants.
Even more engineers will be needed to design these new facilities and support the supply chain.
I hope South Carolina’s universities will make significant investments in developing that professional workforce.
But to me, the craft workforce is even more important. When you look at building one of these large nuclear plants, the peak construction workforce can reach as many as 10,000 people at a single site. Think about that. If you need several thousand skilled workers to build one plant, where are they going to come from?
And we’re not just competing with the nuclear industry. We’re competing with every other industry facing workforce shortages.
There are a lot of problems you can solve with money, but people aren’t one of them. You can’t simply create new people by spending money. That’s why workforce development is so important.
South Carolina is very fortunate to have an outstanding technical college system. There are other states that are very jealous of what we have. We need to invest in that resource.
For example, if we want qualified welders for nuclear construction, those workers need specialized certifications. Every industry needs welders, but nuclear requires additional qualifications. We need to start putting those training programs in place now.
We need electricians and all kinds of other skilled tradespeople.
This isn’t just something the state should be responsible for. Private industry needs to invest as well.
Companies that want to build facilities in South Carolina can make a significant contribution to the local economy by investing in these workforce training programs.
MidlandsBiz:
Let’s explain the bigger picture in simple terms. Why has nuclear energy turned this corner, and why is there suddenly such a strong push to build more plants?
Craig Stover:
There are a couple of things driving this.
First, if you look at projections for electricity demand around the world, we’re going to need a tremendous amount of additional power.
Regardless of whether that electricity comes from nuclear or some other source, we need much more generating capacity on the grid to support everything we’re doing.
So the question becomes: Where is all that electricity going to come from?
We’re going to build as much solar and wind capacity as we possibly can. But those are variable energy resources. It’s the classic saying: The sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow.
We need what we call firm, dispatchable power. That means electricity you can count on when you need it, regardless of weather conditions.
That power can come from natural gas, which we’re building a lot of in this country right now. It can come from coal, or it can come from nuclear.
The other factor is that people increasingly want clean energy. Nuclear provides a clean, reliable source of electricity that can operate around the clock.
When you combine the growing demand for electricity with the need for reliable and cleaner energy sources, the business case for nuclear becomes much easier to justify.
MidlandsBiz:
To wrap up, what’s the most important message you want South Carolina’s business leaders to take away from this conversation?
Craig Stover:
My message is fairly simple.
Over the next 25 to 30 years, we’re looking at a $50 trillion opportunity around the world in building nuclear plants. This is a once-in-a-generation, maybe once-in-a-lifetime, kind of opportunity. We’re talking about an amount of money being invested over a relatively short period that we’ve never seen before.
As a proud South Carolinian, I’d like to see us win. I’d like to see South Carolina become the hub for all of this activity. But that means we all have to act now. I want everybody to recognize the size of the opportunity in front of us and feel a real sense of urgency.
We need to do everything we can now to make sure South Carolina is a winner in this competition.
