From a conservation perspective, energy density merits greater attention within environmental policy analysis

By Thomas S. Mullikin

Conservation policy has traditionally framed economic development and environmental protection as competing objectives, particularly in rural regions where economic distress often coincides with ecologically valuable landscapes. S.C. provides a useful case study for examining whether this perceived tradeoff is inevitable. The state has experienced sustained population and economic growth while maintaining a constitutional commitment to conserving its natural resources, reflecting the economic and ecological importance of tourism, agriculture, forestry, and outdoor recreation.

As S.C. continues to expand, increasing energy demand will require reliable and affordable electricity while preserving the forests, wetlands, agricultural lands, and watersheds that support both biodiversity and economic productivity. Consequently, the environmental performance of energy systems should be evaluated through broader conservation metrics including land-use efficiency, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity impacts, freshwater consumption, and infrastructure requirements.

S.C.’s I-95 corridor and Pee Dee region illustrate the intersection of these challenges. Many of these counties continue to experience comparatively low incomes, elevated poverty rates, limited healthcare access, and constrained educational opportunities. Simultaneously, these counties contain some of the state’s most ecologically significant landscapes, including extensive forests, wetlands, river systems, and agricultural lands that provide essential ecosystem services. These landscapes contribute to flood mitigation, groundwater recharge, water quality protection, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation while supporting critical agriculture and forestry industries.

These natural resources also represent significant economic assets. Tourism contributes approximately $31-billion annually to S.C.’s economy, while ecotourism has become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global travel industry. Healthy ecosystems generate employment opportunities, strengthen local economies, and create incentives for long-term conservation. Consequently, environmental stewardship should be viewed not only as an ecological objective but also as an important component of sustainable regional development.

Within this context, advanced nuclear technologies, particularly Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), could warrant consideration as a potential mechanism for simultaneously advancing economic development and conservation objectives. SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors designed to generate up to 300-megawatts of electricity per unit while occupying substantially smaller physical footprints than conventional nuclear facilities. Their modular construction allows major components to be manufactured off-site and assembled more efficiently, potentially reducing construction timelines and costs while providing flexibility to meet varying electricity demands through multiple reactor units. Their high energy density permits substantial electricity generation from relatively limited land areas. Furthermore, many proposed SMR deployments involve retired industrial facilities, former coal-fired power plants, or existing utility sites, thereby reducing the need for additional land conversion while leveraging existing transmission infrastructure.

From a conservation perspective, energy density merits greater attention within environmental policy analysis. High-density energy systems require less land per unit of electricity generated, potentially reducing habitat fragmentation, limiting infrastructure expansion, preserving wildlife corridors, and maintaining ecosystem connectivity. Incorporating these considerations into environmental decision-making would provide a more comprehensive framework for evaluating the conservation implications of alternative energy technologies.

The ecological significance of some of S.C.’s economically distressed regions underscores this point. The Pee Dee and lower Savannah River regions encompass extensive floodplain forests, wetlands, bottomland hardwood ecosystems, longleaf pine habitats, and Carolina Bays. These landscapes are recognized for their exceptional biological diversity and ecological function. They provide habitat for numerous fish and wildlife species, support migratory bird populations along the Atlantic Flyway, and contribute to regional water quality and flood resilience.

These landscapes also sustain substantial recreational economies through hunting, fishing, boating, paddling, birdwatching, and wildlife viewing. Accordingly, their ecological integrity represents an important source of long-term economic resilience.
The central policy question is therefore not whether economic development should occur, but rather how development can be structured to strengthen rather than diminish these natural assets.

S.C. has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to landscape conservation, with more than three-million acres currently protected through various conservation mechanisms and an ambitious statewide objective of conserving 10-million acres. Globally significant areas such as the ACE Basin, Jocassee Gorges, and Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge illustrate the state’s recognition that conservation provides ecological, cultural, and economic benefits extending well beyond protected boundaries.

Within this broader conservation framework, SMRs may provide opportunities to concentrate energy production while minimizing landscape-scale ecological impacts. Locating advanced reactors on previously developed industrial sites reduces pressure for additional forest clearing, agricultural land conversion, and infrastructure expansion. By concentrating electricity generation within relatively small footprints, high-density energy systems may preserve larger contiguous habitats and maintain ecological connectivity across working landscapes.

Beyond environmental considerations, advanced energy infrastructure may also contribute to regional economic revitalization. These economic improvements are closely associated with enhanced public health outcomes, greater educational attainment, and increased community resilience. Reliable energy infrastructure could therefore serve not only strategic commercial development but also broader social and institutional capacity. Communities with greater economic stability are generally better positioned to invest in conservation, environmental management, and sustainable land-use planning.

The broader implication is that conservation and economic development need not remain competing policy objectives. High-density advanced energy technologies could provide an opportunity to satisfy growing electricity demand while minimizing cumulative land conversion and ecological disturbance. Rather than expanding energy infrastructure across increasingly large landscapes, concentrated energy production may enable greater protection of forests, wetlands, wildlife habitats, and agricultural lands.

S.C.’s recent experience demonstrates that economic growth and environmental progress can occur concurrently. According to EPA data, the state significantly reduced anthropogenic emissions between 2010 and 2022 while simultaneously experiencing substantial economic expansion, industrial investment, and population growth. Although multiple factors contributed to these outcomes, they illustrate that economic competitiveness and environmental performance are not necessarily incompatible.

Ultimately, the question is not whether future energy demand will increase but how that demand can be satisfied while minimizing cumulative impacts on natural systems. Evaluating energy technologies through broader conservation metrics, including land-use efficiency, habitat preservation, ecosystem connectivity, and sustainable regional development, provides a more comprehensive framework for environmental decision-making. Within such a framework, advanced nuclear technologies such as Small Modular Reactors may represent potential instruments of conservation. For S.C., integrating energy policy with environmental stewardship offers a pathway through which economic revitalization, community resilience, and natural resource protection can be pursued as mutually reinforcing objectives rather than competing priorities.

– Dr. Tom Mullikin is director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. An acclaimed global-expedition leader, attorney, former U.S. Army officer and retired commanding general of the S.C. State Guard, Mullikin served as founding chair of the gubernatorially established S.C. Floodwater Commission. He has led the 1,100-plus employee SCDNR since early 2025.

 

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