Edisto Electric Cooperative and Santee Cooper Dedicate Green Power Solar School at Carver-Edisto Middle School
October 23, 2008
Phase 2 of innovative environmental program continues
CORDOVA SC – October 23, 2008 – Edisto Electric Cooperative, Santee Cooper and Orangeburg Consolidated School District Four dedicated a Green Power Solar School today at Carver-Edisto Middle School.
Children, educators, and utility representatives gathered near the tall black solar array that is already producing electricity from the sun’s rays.
The Green Power Solar Schools’ initiative is designed to encourage interest in the environment and demonstrate the feasibility and limitations of renewable power generation. Each Green Power Solar School receives a 2-kilowatt solar power system, which will provide a teaching, research and hands-on demonstration opportunity for students. The project uses a new renewable energy curriculum designed especially for the program that meets state science standards. Each school program is supplemented by an Internet-based monitoring system that provides real-time access to information on the system’s performance as well as other solar schools in South Carolina.
“This is indeed a special day for Carver-Edisto Middle school and Edisto Electric Cooperative and we’re excited and proud to bring this innovative program to our community. Serving our members by helping educate our young people is central to our mission and enriching their educational experience through Green Power Solar Schools will help ensure a better future for them and generations to come,” said David E. Felkel, Edisto Electric Cooperative President and CEO. “We look forward to seeing the fruits of this partnership for years to come.”
“As the 13th Green Power Solar School in South Carolina you have a unique opportunity to benefit from a specially designed renewable energy curriculum and a solar kit filled with hundreds of hands on activities that will encourage you to think differently about energy sources and the energy challenges our country faces,” said Santee Cooper’s Vice President of Conservation and Renewable Energy, Marc Tye.
Green Power Solar Schools represents one way that Santee Cooper and the state’s 20 electric cooperatives promote renewable energy, and it fulfills Santee Cooper’s commitment to reinvest Green Power funds back into renewable resources across South Carolina. In September 2001, Santee Cooper became the first electric utility in the state to generate and offer Green Power to its customers from methane gas collected at the Horry County Solid Waste Authority Landfill near Conway. Since then, three additional landfills in Lee, Richland and Anderson counties have opened, as has the 16-kilowatt solar installation at Coastal Carolina University. Another landfill methane gas generating site has been announced in Georgetown County. Santee Cooper, all 20 electric cooperatives and the City of Georgetown market Green Power to their customers.
“We appreciate the commitment Edisto Electric Cooperative and Santee Cooper have made to our young people through the Green Power Solar Schools Program. Equipping today’s youth with tools to tackle the very real challenges they will face in the future is a critical component of education,” said Dr. Darrell M. Johnson, Superintendent of Orangeburg Consolidated School District Four.
Five additional schools, served by Palmetto Electric Cooperative, Berkeley Electric Cooperative, Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, Aiken Electric Cooperative and Laurens Electric Cooperative became Green Power Solar Schools in 2007. Santee Electric Cooperative, Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Tri-County Electric Cooperative, York Electric Cooperative, Horry Electric Cooperative, Lynches River Electric Cooperative and Fairfield Electric Cooperative dedicated their Green Power Solar Schools in the 2008 second phase.
Santee Cooper recently unveiled Santee Cooper Green, a utility-wide commitment bringing together all the eco-friendly, conservation-minded approaches that Santee Cooper practices and all the programs and opportunities for its customers to “go green.” More information can be found at www.SanteeCooperGreen.com
Edisto Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, nonprofit electric cooperative serving more than 19,300 accounts in Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton, and Orangeburg counties. As a Touchstone Energy Partner, Edisto joins over 600 electric co-ops nationwide to share the Touchstone Energy core values of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. Visit www.edistoelectric.com for more information.
Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility and serves more than 160,000 residential and commercial customers in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties. The utility also generates the power distributed by the state’s 20 electric cooperatives to more than 685,000 customers in all 46 counties. All total, almost two million South Carolinians receive their power directly or indirectly from Santee Cooper. For more information, visit www.SanteeCooper.com
