Study measures economic impact of Savannah River Site

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The Savannah River Site has an annual economic impact of $2.2 billion, according to a recent report.  

An analysis by the James M. Hull College of Business at Augusta University found that the U.S. Department of Energy site creates a direct impact of more than $1.2 billion in economic output and more than 8,600 full-time jobs.  

SRS, established in the 1950s, encompasses 310 square miles and five counties: Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell, along with Columbia and Richmond counties in Georgia.  

The report, released Tuesday by the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization, examines direct, indirect and induced impact in fiscal year 2020 and is the third sponsored by the organization.  

Among its key findings:  

SRS organizations spent $1.2 billion in the regional economy in the form of wages, benefits, and other direct expenditures, generating an additional $1 billion and a total of $2.2 billion in output.  

SRS contractors and federal agencies employed 8,639 residents of the five-county region, with expenditures generating an additional 7,173 jobs in industries including hospitality and retail and real estate. The site supports a total of 15,813 jobs in the regional economy, or 6.8% of the five-county region’s employment base, and SRS organizations spent $177 million on small businesses.  

One-third of the site’s approximately 11,000 workers live in Georgia, with nearly 8,700 residing in the five-county focus study area. The average wage for SRS workers living in the focus area was $97,918. Site workers are an average age of 46.8 years old.  

SRS generated $289 million in federal, state, and local taxes, excluding approximately $6 million in Payment in Lieu of Taxes provided to Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties.