IKEA parent gets approval for rural SC solar farm, but not everyone is happy about it

The parent of furniture retailer Ikea has received permission from state regulators to build a 249-megawatt solar farm in rural Williamsburg County, overcoming opposition from residents who say the project threatens the environment and disrupts their way of life.

Netherlands-based Ingka Group — which owns about 400 retail stores worldwide, including one across the state line in Charlotte — plans to build the solar array on about 4,700 acres of undeveloped land it owns in rural Williamsburg County. In addition to its retail arm, Ingka invests in renewable energy projects and forestland.

The state’s Public Service Commission unanimously approved a certificate last month giving Ingka — operating as Kingstree East 230 LLC — the go-ahead to build the solar farm, which expects to be online by the end of 2028. It’s not clear when a groundbreaking might take place, but Ingka has been clearing the land since 2023, according to state documents. In addition to the solar array, the project would include a substation, access roads, fencing and a stormwater management system.

A lawyer representing Ingka referred questions to the company’s media team, which said it plans to announce updates to the project soon.

Residents had used the property for decades for hunting and other outdoors activities, but their hunting leases were canceled a couple years ago. Nearly 100 county residents wrote letters to the commission opposing the project, expressing concerns over stormwater runoff, damage to the Black River watershed, noise from piledriving and economic harm to nearby farmers.

“If this project is allowed to go through to completion, the rural landscape of this community … will be forever changed permanently,” one Alcolu resident wrote. 

Greeleyville resident Cheryl Lane has asked the commission to reconsider its approval or to hold a new hearing on whether the project should move forward. Lane reiterated concerns others had expressed in letters and said in her petition that Inga hasn’t proven Williamsburg County needs the power generated by the solar farm because of its declining population. Lane could not be reached for comment.

Ingka is asking for Lane’s petition to be denied, saying in a March 11 filing that “she repeats arguments that have already been adjudicated, makes arguments not timely raised during the hearing and attempts to rely on evidence outside the record.”

The commission hasn’t said when it will rule on the matter.

The solar farm could produce enough electricity to run about 50,000 homes. Ingka said it hopes the solar farm will provide some of the 1,500 megawatts of solar capacity that state-owned Santee Cooper plans to add to its system by 2030.

“The central economic justification for the project is the need to replace the aging, carbon-dependent generation fleet of Santee Cooper with clean, cost-effective energy that reliably meets demand,” Ingka said in its application.

The solar farm property is on a portion of 17,000 acres Ingka bought 2019 in Williamsburg, Clarendon and Georgetown counties. The Dutch company’s $4.2 billion in renewable energy assets include 49 wind farms in 17 countries, one battery storage operation and 26 solar parks across nine countries. The facilities generate enough energy to power the equivalent of nearly 1.5 million homes.