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New law promotes solar energy in South Carolina

With New Law, South Carolina Sets a Foundation for More Solar Energy The Energy Collective Jim Pierobon 8 Sept 14 Another state in the Southeast U.S. is recognizing the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy as commissioners, utilities and stakeholders in South Carolina are ironing out details of a new solar law that enables third-party leasing and contemplates the state’s two investor owned-utilities utilities, collectively, installing an estimated 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy by 2021, up from about 8 megawatts currently.

South Carolina joins North Carolina and Georgia in showing it can begin to turn a new leaf to toward cleaner energy development.  The new law is the South Carolina Distributed Energy Resource Program Act (S.B. 1189), which lawmakers in both the House and Senate passed unanimously and Gov. Nikki Hale (R), signed into law in June. Curiously, she waited until August to start promoting it.

The state’s two large investor-owned utilities – South Carolina Electric & Gas and Duke Power (including the former Progress Energy) – have the option to opt in, or out, of the program. If they opt in, they’ll get full rate recovery for meeting at least 2% of their five-year average peak power demand from renewable sources, most of which will likely be solar. If they opt out, no rate recovery for whatever path they pursue.

At this writing there appeared to be a significant and growing amount of public and lawmaker pressure to opt in. It was that public pressure that had been building for years which kicked off serious deliberations leading to the new law, according to Kenneth Sercy, Utility Regulation Specialist, and Hamilton Davis, Climate and Energy Director, at the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, one of the bill’s biggest backers.

“What you’ve seen here is growing public interest in policies that boost investments in clean energy options,” Davis said. “The tide of public opinion is garnering more media coverage and that’s getting the attention of lawmakers.”……http://theenergycollective.com/jimpierobon/484721/new-law-south-carolina-sets-foundation-more-solar-energy

September 9, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA