Santee Cooper, Georgetown County dedicate Green Power station on Earth Day

Santee Cooper and Georgetown County celebrated Earth Day as they dedicated the states newest Green Power plant, the Georgetown County Landfill Generating Station, which generates electricity from naturally occurring landfill methane gas.

Santee Cooper was the first utility to generate renewable energy in South Carolina, beginning in 2001 with a landfill generating station at the Horry County Landfill. Todays dedication brings to five the number of Santee Cooper renewable Green Power stations, collectively generating 22 megawatts of electricity, and it signals continued commitment by the state-owned utility to
environmental stewardship in Georgetown County and throughout South Carolina.

The project generates electricity through a 1-MW GE Jenbacher V-20 engine fed by a system of pipes and wells that collects methane gas created as debris in the landfill decays. Methane gas is a potent greenhouse gas that is 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. The site will accommodate expansion as the landfill grows. The power generated at the station is distributed through Santee
Electric Cooperatives system.

Santee Coopers newest Green Power station also underscores the utilitys commitment to its goal to generate 40 percent of its energy by 2020 from non-greenhouse gas emitting resources, biomass fuels, conservation and energy efficiency.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, every 1 megawatt of power produced through a facility such as the Georgetown County Landfill Generating Station is equal to removing almost 8,000 cars from area roads or planting over 10,000 acres of trees.

The Georgetown project is supported by Santee Cooper customers who purchase blocks of Santee Cooper Green Power. Residential customers can purchase the premium power in blocks of 100 kilowatt hours for $3 each (prices vary for commercial and industrial customers). Santee Cooper reinvests 100 percent of Green Power revenues in new or expanded renewable energy projects.

Other renewable energy projects in Georgetown include a Green Power Solar School 2-kilowatt demonstration solar project at Carvers Bay Middle School and wind energy research projects at several locations in the county. Santee Cooper also helped bring American Gypsum to Georgetown County in 2008, where it opened a plant making wallboard by recycling gypsum produced at Santee
Coopers Winyah Generating Station as a byproduct of environmental control technology at work in the station.

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Education

Tags:

• Renewable Energy
• Green Power
• South Carolina
• Santee Cooper
• Clean Energy
• Alternative Energy