SC-owned power company wants to buy 155 acres in industrial park for ‘future generation’

South Carolina's state-owned utility company, Santee Cooper, wants to buy more than 150 acres in the Lowcountry, possibly for a power plant. (File Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)

COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s state-owned utility company wants to buy more than 150 acres in the Lowcountry, possibly for a future power plant.

A legislative oversight panel signed off Tuesday on Santee Cooper’s $3.2 million purchase of land in rural Hampton County. The site, located in an industrial park near Interstate 95, is a backup plan for the utility if it’s unable to partner on a proposed natural gas-fired plant with Virginia-based Dominion Energy in Colleton County.

Senate replaces energy bill with pledge to fully tackle state’s power needs later

Earlier this year, Santee Cooper sought legislative permission to partner with Virginia-based utility company Dominion Energy on a 2,000-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant, which the companies wanted to build on the site of a former coal-fired power plant along the Edisto River in Colleton County.

At the same time, legislation to allow the partnership introduced sweeping regulatory changes criticized by environmental and consumer groups.

The bill cleared the House in March and advanced in the Senate committee process without testimony from consumer advocates. But it ran into a wall of opposition on the Senate floor, with the Senate stripping the bill down to create a study committee on the issue of power generation in the state.

While Santee Cooper is considering the Hampton County land as a secondary option, Chief Commercial Officer Marty Watson said the land would have “ no specific designated use” at this time. If legislators eventually approve the deal with Dominion Energy, Santee Cooper could still hold on to the property for future use.

“Santee Cooper anticipates some significant growth on our system over the next decade or more, as we work to meet new industrial customer demand and also replace some existing coal units,” the company said in a statement.

No information was available on what size or type of power plant it might consider for the site, when it might consider building on the site, whether it will need to make upgrades to nearby power transmission lines or natural gas pipelines or potential costs associated with a project on the site.

Other tenants in the industrial park — called the Southern Carolina Industrial Campus — include a distribution center for French cookware company Le Creuset and plastic maker Nupi.

In 2020, state officials announced a $314 million Agriculture Technology Campus there, which was supposed to employ 1,500 people in greenhouses growing and packaging produce. But those promises have so far failed to materialize . The original partners bailed soon after the announcement, The Post and Courier reported. Last fall, the Lowcountry Food Bank broke ground at the site .

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, asked whether Santee Cooper has done any analysis of whether a power plant would be beneficial to the surrounding communities.

“I think that it’s really important when we go into these rural communities where not a lot of attention is being paid,” she said. “I want to make sure that we are not inadvertently creating a big mess that future generations might have to be left to deal with.”

Watson pledged that analysis would take place when the utility company decides how it will ultimately use the land.

Meanwhile, a House-Senate committee attempting to negotiate a compromise on the controversial energy overhaul legislation meets for the first time Thursday.

Editor’s Note: Changes have been made to this article to correctly reflect the status of an Agriculture Technology Campus in Hampton County.

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