Agencies voice concerns on recently approved plan to build gas plant on Edisto River

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The South Carolina Public Service Commission (SCPSC) unanimously approved Santee Cooper's long-term power plan on Thursday, which involves constructing a new gas-fired power plant on the Edisto River at the former site of the Canadys coal plant.

The plant is part of an Integrated Resource Plan for long-term power being implemented by Santee Cooper, an electric utility company expected to own and finance the plant alongside Dominion Energy South Carolina.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), representing the Coastal Conservation League (CCL) and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), voiced concerns regarding the plan, arguing that the plant's construction would require additional pipeline projects which have not been disclosed to the public.

SELC said Santee Cooper understated the costs of constructing the gas plant and disregarded energy alternatives like solar power and batteries.

"We're very concerned about the pollution and financial risks of this large, new gas plant, and we're especially concerned about the lack of transparency about the pipelines necessary to serve this plant," said Emily Cedzo, Director of Conservation Programs and Policy for CCL.

"Gas power plants have proven to be unreliable, particularly in the cold," said Eddy Moore, Decarbonization Director at SACE. "Solar plus storage, both large-scale and distributed across the grid, would improve the resilience of the system."

An independent consultant retained by SCPSC echoed the objectors' concerns, stating Santee Cooper did not meaningfully evaluate alternatives to the gas plant, according to a press release from SELC.

The release added that SCPSC plans to release a written order in the next few months to explain how Santee Cooper's plan meets state law requirements of long-term utility plans being "the most reasonable and prudent" for ratepayers.