SC Biomass Sources
Lowcountry Biomass – Wood pellet plant – Jasper County
Enova Energy Group – Wood pellet plant – Edgefield County
EDF Renewable Energy – Woody biomass electricity generation – Allendale, Dorchester counties
Ameresco Inc. / Savannah River Site – biomass cogeneration facility – Aiken County
- Biomass emerges as untapped SC resource
A small but growing energy industry could mean a lot of green for South Carolina.
“We have more wood in the state than we’ve ever recorded,” said S.C. Forestry Commission Resource Development and Business Development Director Tim Adams. “The bottom line is there is plenty of underutilized biomass for energy projects.”
Woody biomass – which can refer to several different types of energy sources and forms – can produce steam, heat and electricity, and has been heralded as a carbon-neutral alternative or supplement to coal. Based on 2008 figures, biomass could supply 12 to 14 percent of total retail sales of electricity sold to all users in South Carolina, according to Adams.
While the state has already enjoyed some success with biomass energy production – including facilities in Allendale, Newberry and Dorchester counties – demand for biomass energy sources rises and falls with fossil fuel markets, he said. Opportunity is particularly high in the Upstate and Piedmont regions.
“There are businesses actively looking at the Upstate for these,” said Adams. “We’ve had a lot of interest.”
- SC’s solar future looks bright
2014 was a big year for South Carolina solar, but it will take the next decade to determine how far it can go. State energy stakeholders – including utilities Duke Energy, S.C. Electric & Gas Co. and state conservational groups – were enthusiastic about June legislation that allowed for solar net metering within the state.
Solar net metering – which allows residential and commercial customers to sell energy they generate back to the grid – in South Carolina made waves when stakeholders agreed in December to give one-to-one retail credit for generated energy and would not charge solar fees.
“Any excess energy that we receive from them, we give them the retail value, and that’s a pretty good deal,” said Jim Donahoo, spokesman for Laurens Electric Cooperative, which serves customers in Abbeville, Anderson, Greenville, Laurens, Newberry, Spartanburg and Union. “Fifteen years from now, will things have to change? It depends on whether or not you see a high penetration of these distributed generation systems. A lot of these things come down to math.”
For South Carolina utilities, heavy reliance on solar is not yet cost-effective, meaning solar net metering may be a way to approach renewables in the near future. Duke Energy Carolinas plans to use nuclear and natural gas for the bulk of its energy capacity mix, but will inch renewables from 7 percent to 13 percent by 2029. Despite maintaining the largest solar farm in the state, public utility S.C. Electric & Gas Co.’s energy mix will include 10 percent renewables and hydro by 2020.
During the next 15 years, increasing emissions regulations – particularly the much-discussed emissions guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – will continue to shape the direction and priorities of the state’s energy industry as customers push for energy efficiency, emission reduction and distributed generation, said Donahoo.
“Really, as it relates to generation here in South Carolina and power, we need to have a balance between sustainable and affordable power,” he said. “You can’t have 100 percent sustainable, because that’s not affordable, and you can’t have 100 percent affordable, because that’s not sustainable.”
- The toss-up with nuclear
As one of the most nuclear-dependent states in the country, the next two decades could be crucial in determining South Carolina’s nuclear future, particularly since operating licenses for all seven existing nuclear units in the state are set to expire between 2033 and 2043.
Operators will have to start planning well before 2030, since replacement nuclear plants take around seven years to build, in addition to design, planning and regulatory approval time. Timelines and budgets can also surpass original projections, such as state utility SCANA Corp.’s V.C. Summer nuclear construction project in Jenkinsville, S.C.
In 2013, the Palmetto state’s four existing nuclear power plants – seven units total – provided 57 percent of the state’s net electricity generation. The national average, for comparison, is around 19 percent.
After 30 years of no nuclear construction in the country, only five new units are underway, two of which are in South Carolina. All U.S. nuclear operating licenses will expire between 2029 and 2049, including the seven in South Carolina. This means units will have to be replaced by new nuclear, their existing licenses must be extended by another 20 years, or utilities will need to find other energy generation replacements.
“A lot of us in the industry are looking at that with interest,” said Duke Energy Carolinas Resource Planning and Analytics Director Glen Snider, who is responsible for projecting energy needs and trends for the Carolinas region of the $25 billion utility.
Duke operates three nuclear units in South Carolina, all of which will expire in 2033 and 2034. The company plans to increase its nuclear capacity to 30 percent from 28 percent of the total energy mix by 2029, which may prompt it to built a new plant of its own, said Snider.
“Are we going to extend those nuclear licenses to 80 years? Are we going to retire them?” said Snider. “The nuclear story will evolve just beyond that 15-year horizon … when all of their licenses begin to expire at the same time.”
