Leaders stress need for statewide energy policy

Local and state business leaders met Tuesday on the Statehouse grounds to discuss the need for a statewide energy policy.

The issue is of great importance to the Pee Dee, because the fight both for and against Santee Cooper’s proposed coal-fired power plant continues to rage despite a recent approval of the air permit for the facility by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The 600-megawatt coal-fired generation facility, called the Pee Dee Energy Campus, would be located on a 2,709-acre tract in Kingsburg, scheduled to become operational sometime after 2012 at a cost of about $1.25 billion to build.

Ricky Hardee, co-chairman and president of the Pee Dee Supporters for Progress, said he is in favor of the coal plant, citing a need for more energy to allow for industrial growth in the region.

But Hardee said he sees the need to look at other sources of energy, as well.

“We’ve never been opposed to other kinds of energy,” he said. “Until we can get these other alternatives up and running and reliable that they would be able to generate the base load that we need, we think the Kingsburg plant is vital to produce the energy we’ll need to (avoid) a shortage.”

The community leaders asked state government to continue the efforts begun by Speaker Bobby Harrell, Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell and the work of the joint legislative Public Utilities Review Committee to ensure that the state’s energy needs are addressed.

They also said future energy legislation should be focused on not only fossil fuel-based sources, but looking to the future for newer, cleaner, better sources of energy.

Santee Cooper officials have said the energy produced by the Pee Dee Energy Campus is necessary to South Carolina to prevent a power shortage in the next five years.

A number of local, state and national conservationists disagree, however.

Ben Gregg, executive director of the S.C. Wildlife Federation has said conservation and research into other forms of energy are more valid options.

“Federal carbon legislation is a big train roaring down the track, and few doubt it will be in effect with in a year or two,” he said. “Any business or government agency that refuses to make sound judgments based on future likelihoods is doomed.”

Otis B. Rawl Jr., president and CEO of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, said the energy provided by facilities such as the Pee Dee Energy Campus are necessary to the survival of businesses across the state.

“When a small business owner walks into his business every morning, the lights must come on, and the rates must remain affordable,” he said in a press release. “The Pee Dee Energy Campus will be the cleanest and most efficient coal-burning facility in the state of South Carolina and one of the cleanest in the entire nation. As our state grows rapidly, we must be proactive in ensuring that we have adequate capacity.”

On Wednesday, conservation groups from across the state will gather to announce the formation of a coalition opposing the Pee Dee Energy Campus called “S.C. Says No.”

The news conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at The Green Quad on the University of South Carolina campus.