SC Energy Policy and the Link to Job Creation
February 22, 2010
By John F. Clark, Director of the South Carolina Energy Office, a unit of the SC Budget and Control Board.
Globally, nationally and within South Carolina, energy is big business. In our small state alone, over $20 billion is spent every year on energy, and the figure is rising fast. Because South Carolina produces no coal, oil or natural gas, the current trend toward and emphasis on clean energy and energy efficiency present great economic opportunities for our state.
The reasons for the national interest are three-fold: national security, environmental consequences of fossil fuel use, and, very importantly, the economic consequences of our energy use patterns. Our economy can benefit from reaping a robust share of the developing green job market, in addition to creating in-state disposable income from economy-bolstering alternative uses for dollars saved through energy efficiency. In a time when saving money is at the forefront of many people’s minds, energy efficiency can bring great financial relief.
The Energy Office offers substantial technical assistance programs to the business community, including Public entities, non-profits and private, for-profit companies (including commercial and small industrial) which qualify to receive energy assessments, energy audits and other technical assistance on energy-related issues. Services are provided by a team of qualified energy consultants under contract with the Energy Office.
In partnership with the S.C. Department of Commerce and the Coordinating Council for Economic Development, we also offer incentive grants for new industrial job creation with renewable energy and energy efficiency components. Eligible groups must meet a threshold investment and jobs creation criteria to receive funding.
Also, working with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and the South Carolina Technical College System, the Energy Office has created an Energy Efficiency Training Center Collaborative to achieve a long-lasting benefit for the state’s economy and energy efficiency. The Technical College System has created a web portal for energy and green training at technical colleges across the state, and training and certification courses are being offered state-wide.
In 2009, the South Carolina General Assembly made it official state policy to promote nuclear energy, renewable energy resources and energy conservation and efficiency as elements of clean energy. We have a tremendous head start in terms of nuclear energy, with over 50 percent of our electricity generation coming from this source (second highest proportion in the country), and there are currently plans to increase the number of nuclear reactors in the state from seven to 11 over the next decade.
Our opportunities in terms of renewable energy use and savings from energy efficiency are outstanding. There is great potential for converting biomass to both transportation fuel and stationary energy use. Our offshore wind energy resources are among the best in the country, and we have enormous solar energy potential. We use more energy per capita than 35 other states, so our room for improvement in energy efficiency is quite substantial.
Job creation potential from clean energy is highly attractive. Recently, we have seen announcements of over 1,000 new jobs being created at an electric bus facility in Greenville County, a solar complex in Williamsburg County, and biomass energy projects in Aiken and Newberry Counties. Wind turbine manufacturing is already a huge Upstate industry, and job spin-off from the new $100 million turbine testing facility in North Charleston will make wind a job fountain throughout the state for many years to come. Biomass energy can produce 13,000 new jobs and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) estimates energy efficiency investments can bring our state 22,000 new jobs by 2025.
In an economy where succeeding in business can be currently trying, there are many resources available to help carry the burden. The South Carolina Energy Office serves as a clearinghouse for information on energy-related federal and state tax incentives and grant and loan programs. Please visit www.energy.sc.gov to learn more.
In the world of energy, what is good for South Carolina’s environment and security is also good for our economy. It is my fervent hope that South Carolina will seize the massive clean energy opportunity before us and ride the crest of the green tidal wave that will most assuredly come whether we are on top of it or not.
John F. Clark is Director of the South Carolina Energy Office, a unit of the SC Budget and Control Board.
He has worked in energy and other public policy activities for over thirty years, including service as advisor to two South Carolina governors, staff for the U.S. House of Representatives and the South Carolina General Assembly, and Executive Director of Public Affairs for Santee Cooper. Before entering government service, he taught political science at the University of South Carolina and the University of Florida.
Educated in the Kingstree, South Carolina public schools, Clark is a graduate of Davidson College and holds a Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He is a U.S. Army veteran, a graduate of Leadership South Carolina, and a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto.
Clark is also co-author of two guidebooks pertaining to the Palmetto State, Hiking South Carolina and Scenic Driving South Carolina.
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