Solar-News-South-Carolina

South Carolina Solar Energy News – May Edition

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The following article contains important news about solar & renewable energy in South Carolina and across America from the month of May 2018. Contact the Southeast’s leading solar company Southern Current to learn about saving money by powering your home or business with clean, unlimited solar energy.

May News Solar Energy In South Carolina

Post and Courier: The Sun is Rising on South Carolina’s Advanced Energy Economy

Southern Current helped develop the Soluga III Solar Farm utility scale installation in Clarkton, North Carolina. The project uses thousands of PV solar panels across it’s 80-acre footprint to generate clean, renewable electricity.

In 2017 a new solar project was installed every 84 seconds across America, as more and more home and business owners turned to solar to help them reduce their carbon footprints and energy bills. This means a great opportunity for states like South Carolina to capitalize on new energy technologies to grow the state’s economy

CNBC: 10 massive corporations going big on solar power

This Target retail store in Florence, South Carolina has over 48,968 square feet of solar panels blanketing its roof. The 707 kW solar power system installed by Southern Current instantaneously collects the sun’s energy and distributes it for consumption at this store.

American businesses are investing record amounts in solar, with the top corporate users adding 325 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity last year. And the impact of this corporate solar trend is significant: these solar installations produce enough electricity to power 402,000 U.S. homes and offset 2.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year! Target took the #1 spot by adding over 40 MW of solar to its portfolio in 2017 including a number of rooftops at South Carolina stores (like the one above) installed by Southern Current.

Independent Mail: New Solar Farms Coming To Anderson County

Southern Current plans to lease land from two private landowners for new solar farms to be constructed in Anderson County. One is a $7.6 million 30 acre development near Piedmont. The other is 30 acres near Powdersville for a $2.8 million, 2-megawatt farm. Along with four other farms that are still in the planning stages, these six farms will eventually provide over $77,000 in new tax revenue for Anderson County.

Learn More About Solar Energy In South Carolina

Southern Current is proud to be one of the top Solar Installers in the Southeast, with specialties in residential solar for homes, commercial solar for businesses, and utility-scale solar farms for property owners and utilities. Schedule a solar consultation today to receive a free analysis of how much money you could be saving with a solar panel installation! Don’t wait – Summer power bills are coming soon!

Solar-Power-Facts-South-Carolina

South Carolina Solar Energy Facts

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South Carolina solar energy installations are expected to grow strong in 2018 thanks to rising power costs and growing demand from home and business owners across the Southeast. Scroll down to read up on the latest South Carolina solar energy facts.

South Carolina Solar Facts

There are currently more than 69 solar companies at work throughout the value chain in South Carolina, employing 2,829 people

The state of South Carolina solar tax credit offers a 25% tax credit for home and business owners who go solar.

The 510.5 MW of solar energy currently installed in South Carolina ranks the state 18th in the country in installed solar capacity.  There is enough solar energy installed in the state to power 5,500 homes.

More than $766.81 million has been invested in solar power in South Carolina

Several large retailers in South Carolina have gone solar. Boeing has installed one of the largest corporate photovoltaic systems in the state with 2.6 MW of solar capacity at their location in North Charleston.

Clemson University’s local Target store now has over 2,000 solar panels on its roof thanks to an installation by Southern Current.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail company Target has 425 solar installs on company roofs across America including a number of store locations in South Carolina.

Click to learn about Target’s commercial solar panel install in Anderson.

Benefits of more solar energy in South Carolina

  • Saving money on your electric bill
  • Enjoying reliable, clean power for 25 to 30 years
  • Helping to boost the state’s economy by creating jobs and new solar companies

Solar energy in South Carolina generates clean, renewable energy. Unlike fossil fuels, there are no carbon emissions or other dangerous pollutants from solar. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates the average American home emits approximately 10.97 metric tons of CO2 per year due to energy usage.

Related: Environmental Benefits Of Solar Power In South Carolina

South Carolina Solar Installations Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click to view nearby home solar panel installations in South Carolina!

Learn More About Solar Power In South Carolina

Southern Current is proud to be one of the top Solar Installers in the Southeast, with specialties in residential solar for homes, commercial solar for businesses, and utility-scale solar farms for property owners and utilities. Schedule a solar consultation today to receive a free analysis of how much money you could be saving with a solar! Don’t wait – Summer power bills are coming soon!

Data for this article was collected from the following links:

https://solarstates.org/#state/south-carolina/counties/solar-jobs/2017

https://www.seia.org/sites/default/files/2018-03/Federal_2017Q4_South%20Carolina_3.12.2018.pdf

https://www.batchgeo.com/map/f3ca38ce3083b9aefcb0868463b719d9

South Carolina Solar Energy News – April Edition

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The following article contains important news about solar & renewable energy in South Carolina and across America from the month of April 2018. Contact the Southeast’s leading solar company Southern Current to learn about saving money by powering your home or business with clean, unlimited solar energy.

April News Solar Energy In South Carolina

Post and Courier: South Carolina lake has role in state’s solar future

View of the Fairfield pumped-storage project at Lake Monticello which stores electricity by shuttling water back and forth between a reservoir. Image Credit: High Flyer

There’s an exciting development in the realm of energy storage called pumped hydro, and it’s happening right here at South Carolina’s Lake Monticello. Big energy storage systems have become increasingly important in the utility industry as renewable power like wind and solar have become more prevalent. But because renewable output fluctuates when wind changes and when clouds obscure sunlight, state regulators are making assessments for incorporating unused solar power into Lake Monticello’s storage capacity, which would allow for the lake to function much like a solar battery.

USA Today: Corporations push power companies toward solar and wind

Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple round out the top 4 corporate buyers of renewable energy.

America’s energy generation from renewables is climbing thanks in part to purchases from large corporations like Apple, Budweiser, GM, Google, Microsoft, Target and Walmart. Since 2008, renewable energy has gone from 9% to 18% of the U.S. energy mix. A big part of that shift stems from tech companies’ desire to improve their public image by vowing they’ll run these centers on sources like wind and solar.

The companies are pushing their suppliers to go green, too. Apple, who said last month that 100% of the electricity it uses for facilities and data centers now comes from renewables, says nearly two dozen of its suppliers have also made a commitment to 100% renewable energy.

Wired: Why can’t we fix Puerto Rico’s grid?

An electrician works to restore power lines. Image Credit: JOSE JIMENEZ TIRADO/GETTY IMAGES

Hurricane Maria wiped out the power grid when it crashed into Puerto Rico in late 2017. Fast forward to today, and many homeowners are still living without electricity. But, a handful of nonprofits, solar entrepreneurs, and battery manufacturers are working to rebuild the U.S. territory’s infrastructure. They’re designing rooftop solar panels connected to energy storage systems that are built for resiliency, to withstand another catastrophic  hurricane event.

Learn More About Solar Energy In South Carolina

Southern Current is proud to be one of the top Solar Installers in the Southeast, with specialties in residential solar for homes, commercial solar for businesses, and utility-scale solar farms for property owners and utilities. Schedule a solar consultation today to receive a free analysis of how much money you could be saving with a solar panel installation! Don’t wait – Summer power bills are coming soon!

14 Reasons To Fall In Love With Solar Energy

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Love is in the air this week, can you feel it?! And Southern Current’s team of solar experts has all the feels for providing you with some lovely information you might be surprised to learn about solar power.

Reasons To Fall In Love With Solar This Valentine’s Day

#1 Solar energy is free from the sun

The sun rises each day, emitting an unlimited amount of solar radiation that costs nothing to use.

#2 Solar is clean, no carbon emissions

Solar energy is clean energy, a resource that has zero carbon emissions. By producing your own clean energy with solar, you are reducing the amount of dirty power used from fossil fuel-based power generation. Solar power has ZERO greenhouse gas emissions! Click to learn more about the environmental benefits of solar in South Carolina.

#3 Solar is renewable and will not run out anytime soon

Fossil fuels are non-renewable, meaning they draw on limited resources that will eventually run out. By contrast, solar energy is constantly replenished and will never run out. As long as the sun shines with each new day, we’ll always have solar energy!

#4 Solar can be used as a fuel source to power and electric car

Another lovely aspect of solar energy is that it can be used as the fuel source to power an electric car. PV2EV is a buzz phrase sometimes used by members of the solar and electric car communities which refers to a scenario where solar panels (photovoltaics or “PV”) provide the electricity to recharge an electric vehicle (EV). You can drive on sunshine when you charge your electric car with energy generated by solar panels on your roof!

In fact, a Southern Current residential solar customer has a rental property which he uses as a “sustainability model home” and serves as a charging station for other EV owners. When not used by other electric car drivers he charges his Tesla – a premium electric car that has earned top automotive safety and design awards. Click to learn more about solar power and electric cars.

#5 Solar can be used as a resource to power a home

Installing solar panels on your roof allows you to essentially own a solar power plant that delivers power to your home each day. The system gets connected to your electric panel, and your utility meter, and can pull power from the grid when needed (like on cloudy days and during the night).

#6 It can even be used to power a business

Just like the above scenario, business owners can power their facilities with sunlight harnessed by solar panels. Southern Current has helped a large number of commercial entities go solar, including Target stores in Anderson, Florence, Greenville, Simpsonville & Spartanburg, South Carolina!

#7 Solar energy can power the entire world

More power from the sun hits the Earth in a single hour than all of the world uses in an entire year. Researchers have said that if we covered an area of land about the size of Spain with solar panels we could generate enough solar energy to power the entire Earth! And Elon Musk has said that if we covered just a corner of Utah or Nevada with solar panels, we could power the entire United States!

#8 Going solar helps people save money on power bills

In 2017 a new solar project was installed every 84 seconds across America, as more and more home owners turned to solar to help them reduce their carbon footprints and energy bills. Southern Current helped Steve V. and his family in Greenville reduce their power bill by 60%, helped Brenda and Gary S. in Charleston save $243.62 on their August power bill, and helped other customers like Marv N. eliminate their power bills completely with solar panels!

#9 Going solar increases home resale value

Another benefit from going solar is that the value of your home will increase. This is according to researchers at the Department of Energy who found that, on average, adding a new set of solar panels increases the value of the home by $15,000 dollars.

#10 The solar industry employees hundreds of thousands of Americans

According to the 2017 Solar Jobs Census conducted by The Solar Foundation, the solar industry now employs more than 250,000 Americans! The solar workforce increased by 168% in the past seven years, from about 93,000 jobs in 2010 to over 250,000 jobs in 2017.

#11 There’s a 55% of SALE on solar thanks to federal & state tax credits

Both the state of South Carolina and the US federal government currently offer tax credits to make going to solar a lot more affordable. A federal tax credit worth 30% of the total system cost and installation is available for home and business owners, while an additional 25% tax credit is available from the state of South Carolina.

Plus, Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas, South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G), Santee Cooper, and other local electric utilities have unique solar rebate & incentive programs which provide additional savings when installing solar power systems! Click to learn more about South Carolina Solar Power Rebates and Incentives.

#12 Solar power can even be used at night when the sun isn’t shining

Batteries and energy storage applications are being developed world wide to allow the use of solar energy at night! Technology currently exists so that batteries can store energy to be used in emergency applications, like a weather-related grid-outage, and as costs come down over time you will be able to afford batteries capable of storing 100% of your energy needs.

#13 Solar powered mass transportation is on the horizon

Solar Impulse 2 is a solar powered electric plane that successfully traveled the entire planet using only sunlight as fuel, the Tiny Solar House is an off-grid tiny house on wheels that was towed across America’s National Parks using only solar power for electricity, and PlanetSolar is the first ship to circumnavigate the globe on solar power alone.

#14 Using solar power feels great

Opening your power bill each month to see how much money you’ve saved is a delightful feeling after you’ve installed solar panels!

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at Southern Current! We LOVE solar and we know you will too!

Threat Of Solar Import Tariffs Still Alive

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PowerScout, a California-based solar advocacy group, recently interviewed members of the solar industry in locations all across the United States to get a feel for how tariffs on solar imports could affect their industries.

Southern Current’s VP of Development and Strategy, Bret Sowers, was one of the five industry members consulted for the news piece.

Effect of tariffs on the residential solar market

Mr. Sowers commented that solar import tariffs may increase the total system cost by two or three thousand dollars, and that may mean the difference between a customer having the savings to purchase a system. And on another hand, it could also prevent customers opting for finance from being able to meet approval guidelines.

View of 20.7 kW Pelzer, South Carolina residential solar project installed by Southern Current.

“It would disqualify them from getting solar for their house. This wouldn’t be based on something they did wrong or the company did wrong, but by the fact that we have an artificially raised price of panels.” -Bret Sowers, Southern Current’s VP of Development and Strategy

Effect on commercial & utility-scale solar markets

Mr. Sowers also noted that the tariff will affect the ability for utilities to choose solar farms over fossil fuels for power generation.

Atkinson

View of Southern Current’s 6.5 MW Atkinson Solar Farm utility-scale installation in Beulaville, North Carolina.

“In South Carolina, the avoided cost rate for one of the utilities is $34/MWh. Foreign [solar panel] manufacturers were the only ones who could supply the quantity of modules we needed for these projects. If you raise the price up to the 78 cents (per watt) that Suniva is requesting, it would no longer be viable to sign an avoided-cost contract with the utility. They’re not going to purchase that solar power. They’ll say ‘we’re just going to build a combustion turbine because it’s cheaper’. And those utility-scale solar projects will die.”

Feedback from other solar industry members

“SolarWorld is a German company that’s been in and out of bankruptcy since 2010. Suniva is owned by someone offshore also. Even if we did all domestic manufacturing, they might create 500-1000 jobs but they’re going to take away 20,000-30,000 installation jobs. Once we stop installing, there’s going to be no demand for their product and they’re going to lay off their manufacturing employees anyway.” -Kent Harle, Founder of Stellar Solar, a California-based installer

“Potential customers will have second thoughts because of the price or because of the longer return on investment.”  -Ronnie Mandler, CEO of Best Energy Power, a New York-based solar company

“Most customers are looking for the most cost effective panel they can get since these systems are already quite expensive. They are looking to make sure they can get their money back. And I don’t think there’s any question that the tariff will cause a net loss of jobs. There’s a lot more jobs on the installation side than manufacturing. ” -Jack Ailey, CEO/Founder at Ailey Solar in Chicago, Illinois

“If you’re going to do a tariff, it needs to be progressive. If you try to flip it all over to American-made panels, the American manufacturers aren’t going to begin to be able to keep up. This will spike prices and put the industry on a standstill. “ -Samuel Florence, CEO/Founder of Alternatex in Dallas, Texas

Key Takeaways

This solar tariff ruling has yet to be determined, but it is clear from the comments above that most industry members are hoping said tariffs will not be imposed.

Widespread job losses are possible, along with higher costs for all solar users, commercial, residential, and utility-scale.

Join us in fighting together to protect the 370,000+ Americans who work in solar by contacting the Trump Administration and voicing your opposition to solar tariffs.

Click to read the original article on powerscout.com.

About Southern Current

Southern Current is proud to be one of the top Solar Installers in the Southeast. Thanks to the numerous Solar Rebates & Incentives that are currently available, there’s never been a more affordable time to create your own energy!

View the Southern Current Solar Panel Installation Portfolio to see projects we’ve completed in your area, or Contact Us to request information about a solar panel installation for your home or business and see how much you can save with solar.