Horry County’s leaders must take a proactive, forward-looking view on solar energy
Long before scientists discovered that sunlight could produce electricity, Native Americans faced their buildings south for maximum sunlight and warmth.
Now solar panels are aimed south to best capture electricity.
Horry County Council has a potential fee-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with Southern Current, a Charleston-based solar energy developer, that could net the county $16.6 million over 30 years.
Southern Current, a major player in solar energy, would pay the county $552,000 annually instead of property taxes. Some council members have designs on the money as a source to construct a civic arena along Highway 22.
Southern Current proposes to construct three solar farms across five properties in western Horry County near Gallivants Ferry.
The farms could generate electricity for about 20,000 homes, and Southern Current would sell the power to a utility such as Santee Cooper.
The council has the proposal on its Nov. 17 meeting agenda for initial discussion, and public comment scheduled for the Dec. 8 meeting.
Environmental questions
In October the Horry County Council’s Transportation and Economic Development Committee questioned a Southern Current executive and consultants about the potential environmental impact of decommissioning a large solar farm.
This point has held up the deal.
“There’s not a landfill in the country that will take (solar panels),” Member Johnny Vaught said. “I’m thinking about my grandchildren and children down the road. Where are these materials going to go when they’re done with them?”
Vaught’s alarmist tone regarding the solar proposal was echoed by fellow Member Bill Howard. “We’d like to move forward if it all works out and everything is good,” Howard said, “(and) if it doesn’t contaminate or hurt our county.”
Too skeptical of science?
There appears to be a growing trend when it comes to scientific issues and council, and it’s not a promising one.
Not long ago council could not muster the political fortitude to extend a face mask mandate for unincorporated areas of Horry County, even though there’s clear proof that using face coverings helps to slow the spread of COVID-19.
And now council members are holding up progress on a potentially significant development for Horry County because of ill-founded skepticism about a proven source of energy.
For example, concern has been raised that the solar panels would contain a chemical called Cadmium Tellluride, but the reality is it isn’t used in newer solar panels.
Indeed at a committee meeting, solar engineer Ted McGavran shot down suggestions that materials from solar panels will leach into the environment. “That doesn’t happen, they’re all inside the glass itself,” McGavran said.
“So unless there was something that could crack that glass ... they’re not going to get out.”
Selective concern
While it is fine and understandable for Howard and Vaught to ask questions about future potential environmental concerns regarding solar panels, the residents represented by these two council members might ask this question:
Where was this concern for the public’s health when Howard and Vaught opposed extending the face mask ordinance past Oct. 30?
Howard, for example, represents portions of the cities of Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach — two municipalities that have quite appropriately extended mask mandates in their corporate limits.
By opposing the plan to keep the mandate in place in unincorporated parts of his district, Howard is putting residents and businesses in those areas under different regulations during an ongoing public health situation.
Solar energy is feasible
Producing electricity from the sun has grown markedly in the past dozen years as it has become more economically feasible.
According to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association, South Carolina ranks No. 13 among the 50 states in solar energy. Currently only 1.53% of S.C. electricity is from solar, but growth is projected; at the moment the state has 3,307 solar jobs and 66 solar companies.
Orangeburg leads the state’s counties in solar power capacity with 120,000 kilowatts. Horry County’s capacity is under 20,000 kilowatts, placing Horry 16th among the state’s counties.
Nationwide there are more than 2.6 million solar energy systems, and 250,000 Americans are working in solar energy jobs.
In short Fatih Birol of the International Energy Agency put it well when he described solar as “becoming the new king of the world’s electricity markets.”
Horry County’s leaders should bow to that reality and take a proactive, forward-looking approach on solar energy.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 6:46 AM.