Santee Cooper, Dominion SC propose huge natural gas plant | Commentary | postandcourier.com - The Post and Courier

Santee Cooper, Dominion SC propose huge natural gas plant | Commentary | postandcourier.com

Organizations that recklessly promote an all-solar power grid at the expense of South Carolina’s energy security are at it again, firing off tweets, emails and newspaper columns employing tired scare tactics and gross distortions of reality. Their script is perhaps worthy of a cheap horror film but has no place in real conversations about South Carolina’s energy needs.

Here’s the truth: South Carolina cannot meaningfully or responsibly increase solar power without adding natural gas generation.

Solar panels don’t produce electricity when the sun isn’t shining, but you need your air conditioner to run during thunderstorms on hot August afternoons. Battery storage is limited in duration and relies on other energy sources. It is inadequate and expensive as a backup. We need the flexibility of natural gas generation to ramp up and down according to the sun’s availability.

Saying we can do away with proven baseload generation and get by with solar, backed up only by battery storage, is a perfect way to put South Carolinians in danger. Winter Storm Elliott delivered several days of frigid temperatures and cloudy skies. Solar panels couldn’t have met power needs during the day, let alone recharged batteries to power our heat pumps at night.

Santee Cooper and Dominion Energy SC are in the early stages of planning a new, jointly built natural gas power plant that will save money and increase flexibility and reliability for customers of both utilities. This plant uses low-risk, proven technology already seen in hundreds of power plants across the country and in South Carolina. It is the most common and cheapest form of power generation available today.

We have a balanced approach that meets the energy needs of our customers, as validated by an independent consultant to the S.C. Public Service Commission. The commission approved our resource plan (with 1,020 megawatts of natural gas power and 2,100 megawatts of new solar power by 2032) as the lowest-cost, lowest-risk solution for future customer needs. Our plan also would close four coal units as new natural gas comes online, and add battery storage as technology improves and costs fall. This plan is not only the most cost-effective solution but also will significantly cut emissions.

Legislators are considering a bill that would let state-owned Santee Cooper jointly build power plants with privately owned utilities such as Dominion. The legislation also encourages Santee Cooper and Dominion to consider building a natural gas power plant at Dominion’s former generating site, Canadys.

This is important: The proposed legislation doesn’t approve the plant or allow us to bypass federal or state regulatory oversight, although the opponents want you to think it does. We will need to seek commission approval and provide full design plans, including cost projections, additional transmission needs and other details. We will need to obtain all required state and federal permits. All of these processes are public and include opportunity for your input.

In terms of environmental impact, the planned natural gas plant will affect fewer than 600 acres, most of that existing brownfield or right-of-way acreage. The Canadys site already has electric transmission access. The pipeline route options under consideration would utilize existing right-of-way to provide fuel at the site. Bringing a similar amount of solar power online would require more than 11,000 acres for the panels alone, plus additional land for transmission.

Backing up 2,100 megawatts of solar power solely with batteries would be reckless and a danger to our customers. Natural gas technology is proven and widely used. By jointly building a larger power plant than either of us would build alone, Santee Cooper and Dominion will see significant economies of scale in cost and efficiency and provide unmatched reliability for millions of South Carolinians.

It’s not just common sense. It’s the only responsible path forward.

Jimmy Staton is the president and CEO of Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned power and water utility.