Dominion Announces Two Solar Farms in S.C.

By Anca Gagiuc

Dominion, South Carolina

Charleston, S.C.—Richmond, Va.-based energy company Dominion announced plans to establish two new solar-generating facilities in Jasper County, S.C. The projects, a 71.4-megawatt solar array expected to be South Carolina’s largest, and a 10-megawatt development, are slated for completion later this year.

“South Carolina’s renewable energy sector continues to grow by leaps and bounds, providing energy to our citizens while protecting our beautiful natural resources. This new $100 million investment will make a big difference in the Lowcountry community, and we congratulate Jasper County on this great announcement,” Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt said in a prepared statement.

“Dominion is excited to work with a number of partners—including Solvay and South Carolina Electric & Gas—not only to bring additional non-carbon-emitting solar generation to the power grid but also to add to our South Carolina energy infrastructure portfolio,” said Thomas Farrell II, chairman, president & CEO of Dominion.

The Solvay Solar Energy-Jasper County, S.C. facility will occupy nearly 900 acres near Ridgeland S.C. in Jasper County. South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) for the energy it will produce. Solvay, an international chemicals and advanced materials company, will purchase all of the associated renewable energy credits (RECs) for 15 years. Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO of Solvay, said, “This new agreement will help us reduce our carbon dioxide intensity, one of Solvay’s main sustainability goals. It enables the development of additional renewable energy capacity in a region where we have a significant presence and allows us to better serve customer expectations through sustainability.”

SCE&G also signed a PPA on Dominion’s 10-megawatt Ridgeland Solar project and will retain the RECs. The project will be situated on about 80 acres in Ridgeland, S.C. “Utility-scale solar represents the least-cost approach to solar energy and provides clean energy for our state. The Jasper County solar projects demonstrate the continuing emergence of solar energy as a resource that can supplement reliable, resilient, and safe service that customers in South Carolina need to grow our economy,” added Danny Kassis, vice president of Customer Relations and Renewable Energy for SCE&G.

Dominion acquired the two developments from Adger Solar in November 2016. Minneapolis-based Mortenson will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the projects. Approximately 200 jobs are expected to be created during construction in 2017.

“Jasper County is showing South Carolina that large-scale solar can be built and sustained in all 46 counties across the Palmetto State,” said Bill Moore, principal of Adger Solar. “Adger Solar has been working in South Carolina since 2014 and we have over a half-dozen large-scale solar projects underway. These projects will provide new jobs to the local communities, tax revenue to the counties and clean power to the citizens and companies of this state. We are pleased to be part of the emerging solar energy industry during this exciting time in South Carolina.”

Image courtesy of Dominion via Twitter