Midlands Solar Company Dedicates Landmark Project with Santee Cooper
February 4, 2010
BLUFFTON, SC – February 4, 2010 – Columbia, SC-based Argand Energy Solutions, Santee Cooper, Palmetto Electric Cooperative and the Technical College of the Lowcountry recently dedicated a 20-kilowatt solar array at TCL’s New River Campus. The project is the largest solar installation in the Lowcountry and was made possible by South Carolinians who purchase Santee Cooper Green Power.
The project includes a series of nine canopies, each covered with 10 solar panels and sheltering a bench, adding another level of functionality to the installation. The electricity generated by the panels will be metered and supplied to the grid through Palmetto Electric Cooperative’s distribution system.
“Palmetto Electric and Santee Cooper have done a great job in promoting the sale of their Green Power renewable energy,” said Chris Salmon, Argand vice president and co-founder. For the benefit of each student at Technical College of the Lowcountry, this 20-kilowatt array will offer more opportunities to learn about solar power.”
Palmetto Electric Cooperative was the first electric cooperative in South Carolina to promote Santee Cooper Green Power to its customers, and today has one of the largest groups of customers supporting the state’s original renewable energy program.
“Palmetto Electric is proud of the role we’ve played in bringing this 20-kilowatt solar power machine to our corner of the state,” said G. Thomas Upshaw, Palmetto Electric president and CEO. “We have promoted the benefits of renewable green power for years to our customers, and our customers have clearly said they want more. I can think of no better place for this demonstration project than at Technical College of the Lowcountry, where it can be an anchor for continuing research and development into renewable energy.”
Dr. Tom Leitzel, TCL president, said, “TCL is honored to showcase these advances in alternative energy. It fits perfectly with the renewable energy emphasis we stress in our industrial and engineering technology curricula.”
Santee Cooper Green Power revenues paid for the $230,000 solar project at TCL. Santee Cooper has generated and sold renewable Green Power since 2001, and the cooperatives began promoting it in 2003 when Palmetto Electric Cooperative signed on. Customers can purchase blocks of Green Power for $3 a month; all Green Power revenues are reinvested in new or expanded Green Power projects in South Carolina.
The high-efficiency panels were manufactured by SunPower Corp. and installed by Argand Energy Solutions which is based in Columbia, SC and has offices in Charlotte and Charleston. The contemporary canopy design is by Watson Tate Savory Architects. Linton’s Mechanical Services of Goose Creek fabricated the supporting steel structures. Santee Cooper’s General Construction Group performed the site work and installation of the support structures.
Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility, and the state’s largest power producer. For more information, visit www.santeecooper.com.
Palmetto Electric Cooperative is a non-profit electrical distribution utility that is owned by the members it serves. The Cooperative serves over 66,000 consumers in southern Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties. For more information, visit www.palmetto.coop.
One of 16 colleges comprising the South Carolina Technical College System, the Technical College of the Lowcountry traces its origin to the Mather School founded in 1868. TCL is a comprehensive, public, two-year college dedicated to serving the diverse educational needs of Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper Counties. The College annually serves approximately 10,000 credit and continuing education students, a mix of traditional, non-traditional, full-time and part-time. For more information, visit www.tcl.edu.
Argand Energy Solutions is the largest installer of solar electric and solar water heating panels in SC. For more information, visit www.argandenergy.com.
