Friday’s editorial takes a look at proposals to allow third-party businesses to lease solar panels to S.C. consumers:
Solar power certainly isn’t perfect. Those pesky clouds, for instance, can be a major problem. But it is one more bullet in the renewable energy gun and one more way to take advantage of a constantly replenished source of energy that will move us closer to the goal of energy independence.
The problem in South Carolina? Solar power has largely remained the province of utilities, large businesses and a few wealthy homeowners. The biggest solar project in the state, at Boeing’s plant in North Charleston, for instance, makes up about 65 percent of the entire state’s solar capacity, which tops out around 4 megawatts. Santee Cooper’s largest solar project, located in Myrtle Beach just south of The Sun News, can generate about a third of a megawatt. Compare that to the 26,000 megawatts produced in the state from all energy sources and it becomes clear that the sun isn’t exactly a major part of South Carolina’s energy solution.
Recent Comments