Mobile Home Sales in Santee, SC

Integrated Resource Plan Will Be Submitted to PSC May 15

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – The Santee Cooper Board of Directors today approved the utility’s 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), including a preferred energy portfolio that significantly reduces Santee Cooper’s carbon footprint and prioritizes flexibility, reliability and affordability in meeting customers’ future power needs.

The Board also approved submitting the IRP to the S.C. Public Service Commission on May 15 for the Commission to begin its review process.

The IRP summarizes 18 months of detailed analysis of various resource options and combinations to develop the preferred portfolio. Key components of that portfolio, envisioned to be implemented by the mid-2030s, include:

“South Carolina needs a modern, cleaner energy portfolio that supports South Carolina’s growing economy and growing adoption of electric vehicles and other power-dependent technologies across the state,” said President and CEO Jimmy Staton. “This portfolio provides all of that, and it equips Santee Cooper to continue to power South Carolina reliably – and affordably – for decades to come.”

The preferred portfolio includes flexibility to allow for a joint build with Dominion Energy South Carolina of a new natural gas unit, which the two utilities are exploring for potential economies of scale and other efficiencies. The preferred portfolio also can adjust as necessary to include dispatch of customer-provided resources, in particular power purchase agreements proposed by Central Electric Power Cooperative, Santee Cooper’s largest customer.

The 2023 IRP reflects input by customers and other stakeholders gathered during five public meetings, held from March 2022 to April 2023, and hundreds of comments and questions offered throughout the public input process. Additional technical meetings were also held as requested by stakeholder groups.

Santee Cooper and its expert consultants analyzed several resource portfolios, including a lowest-cost option, a no-new-carbon option, an option that retired all coal units by 2033, and a net-zero-by-2050 option. The preferred portfolio aligns closely with the lowest-cost portfolio but includes more battery storage, accelerated implementation of solar resources, and fewer gas-fired combustion turbines.

More information about Santee Cooper’s 2023 IRP is available at www.santeecooper.com/IRP, and that site will be updated once the final version is filed May 15 and throughout the regulatory review process.

Santee Cooper

Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s largest power provider, the ultimate source of electricity for 2 million people across the state, and one of America’s Best Midsize Employers as named by Forbes. Through its low-cost, reliable and environmentally responsible electricity and water services, and through innovative partnerships and initiatives that attract and retain industry and jobs, Santee Cooper helps power South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.santeecooper.com and follow #PoweringSC on social media.

Anyone who spends even a small amount of time in a forest or wooded area can appreciate a tree. But for those who need a gentle reminder, Arbor Day is celebrated every year on the last Friday in April. This is a day to celebrate the planting, upkeep, and conservation of our wooden friends.

Santee Cooper’s Forest Management Plan has a long history of caring for trees and wildlife. The plan includes sustainable timber harvesting, protection of soil and water quality, fish and wildlife habitat enhancement, public recreation, and forest protection. You may wonder how timber harvesting is a positive when it comes to trees. The fact is that the thinning of forests maintains healthier timber stands and enhances vegetative diversity in the understory, providing a better habitat for certain wildlife species.

Renewing portions of the forest by clearcutting and reforesting also provides a diversity of habitat across the landscape as well as insures we have a balanced age structure in our forests. Santee Cooper conducts a final harvest, or clearcut, of approximately 250 -300 acres annually and promptly reforests these sites to maintain forest productivity, filter the air and sequester carbon dioxide.

It’s also important to note that timber is the top agribusiness crop in South Carolina and forest-based businesses are the largest employment sector. This is a huge economic impact as forestry and related businesses provide a 23.2 billion dollar benefit for the state.

Santee Cooper is also big on wetland restoration efforts. When we closed the Grainger Generating Station, we planted approximately 68,000 bald cypress, swamp tupelo, and several oak species in the former Lake Busbee, effectively restoring about 180 acres of the Waccamaw River bottomland forest.

At Camp Hall we’ve already re-established approximately 280 acres of native hardwoods, allowing us to enhance a total of 1,950 acres of wetlands and uplands to offset planned impacts to 208 acres of wetlands on the site. We also planted 151,000 hardwood seedlings that included 139,000 oaks of various species, 9,000 red maple, 2,200 bald cypress, and 500 water tupelo seedlings. Next year, we will do an additional 180 acres of hardwood planting with similar species.

As far as soil and water conservation, these are primarily achieved through well-implemented forest management operations. Forest lands help watersheds by acting as a filter for them. This is especially true if they are properly managed. Areas where timber harvesting is limited or excluded are called “streamside-management zones,” and they help protect our lakes and streams by preventing erosion and sedimentation. We take water quality of the Santee Cooper lakes seriously as we provide it to 200,000 people in Berkeley, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties.

Jeff Straight

As a 15-year veteran of the utility industry, Jeff began his career as a call taker. Those countless hours of listening to customer concerns helped mold him into the communications professional he is today. He grew up in West Virginia and graduated from his hometown college, Fairmont State, in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in communications. He is a drummer of 30 years and enjoys entertaining people from the stage as well as the keyboard.

Pure Development plans to build two spec buildings equaling more than 428,00 sq. ft. of new space

CBRE has arranged the sale of two adjacent industrial development sites totaling 26.44 acres at Camp Hall in Charleston. Santee Cooper, the state-owned electric and water utility developing Camp Hall, sold the sites to Pure Development for $7.4 million.

Robert Barrineau, Brendan Redeyoff and Tim Raber of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. Dan Camp with Santee Cooper and Adam Seger with Pure Development also worked on the deal.

Pure Development will build two speculative industrial buildings on the land located at Camp Hall Commerce Park on Electric Avenue at Campus 1, which is across from Volvo Car USA. Construction is scheduled to start in Q3 2023 and buildings to deliver Q3 2024. Lot 6 will contain a 306,280-sq.-ft. warehouse with 30 dock doors, a 32-ft. clear height, 20 trailer spaces, and 375 auto spaces. Lot 7 will have a 122,180-sq.-ft. warehouse with 13 dock doors, a 32-ft. clear height and 100 auto spaces. Both buildings are less than 2 miles to Interstate 26 and are located between major distribution and a new recycling facility at Camp Hall.

Pure Development has selected CBRE’s Bob Barrineau, Brendan Redeyoff and Tim Raber to lease the projects. The buildings will be sub-divisible down to 40,000 sq. ft., offering space options ranging from 40,000 up to 428,000 sq. ft.

“Camp Hall is one of the region’s most active industrial parks with a well-balanced roster of tenants that include automotive, EV supply chain, technology, logistics and cold storage users,” said Bob Barrineau, a Senior Vice President at CBRE. “These buildings will fill a huge demand as the Charleston industrial market continues to see record demand with historically low vacancy rates.”

“This sale brings more opportunities for economic growth in South Carolina,” said Dan Camp, Senior Director of Real Estate and Camp Hall. “We appreciate CBRE’s efforts in arranging the sale, and we welcome Pure Development to Camp Hall, a people-first, next-generation commerce park.”

“Camp Hall’s economic development success demonstrates the wise investment made by South Carolina, Berkeley County, and Santee Cooper," said Adam Seger, Principal at Pure Development.

“The U.S. manufacturing renaissance continues to attract capital expenditure tailwinds to mega-parks with infrastructure in place. Pure Development is excited to support the vision and growth ongoing at Camp Hall.”

Camp Hall industrial park provides convenient access to interstate and rail systems as well as proximity to airports and deep-water ports. The commerce park is located in Berkeley County near the Charleston area’s diverse workforce with a population of over 825,000 people.

About CBRE Group, Inc.

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2022 revenue). The company has approximately 115,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves a diverse range of clients with an integrated suite of services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.

About Pure Development

Pure Development is a powerful fusion of institutional commercial development experience and bold entrepreneurial spirit. Since 2010, we have been creating highly personalized, highly designed, highly functional places for an impressive roster of discerning clients. With every project, we explore new ways to encourage connectivity and creativity—to help people live the best possible life, professionally and personally. Learn more at puredevelopment.com.

Santee Cooper

Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s largest power provider, the ultimate source of electricity for 2 million people across the state, and one of America’s Best Midsize Employers as named by Forbes. Through its low-cost, reliable and environmentally responsible electricity and water services, and through innovative partnerships and initiatives that attract and retain industry and jobs, Santee Cooper helps power South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.santeecooper.com and follow #PoweringSC on social media.

The history of South Carolina’s man-made lakes includes accounts of entire towns that were moved to make way for the new lakes. In a few cases, at least parts of some towns were flooded, with buildings having not been moved at all. Such is the case with the state’s largest lake. You may be surprised to learn there’s a fascinating underwater ghost town in South Carolina in Lake Marion, and part of it can be seen above the waterline. The story of Ferguson, South Carolina is incredibly unique!

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Did you know about the underwater ghost town of Ferguson, South Carolina and the part of it that juts above the water line on Lake Marion? What about other ghost towns? We’d love to hear about either in our comments!

Santee Cooper’s board approved a $23.4 billion plan May 9 to diversify and expand the utility’s sources of electricity by 2040 that includes bulking up on solar power and building a new gas-fired plant in the state, possibly with Dominion Energy as a partner.

The vote, taken during a virtual special meeting, was unanimous. The long-range proposal will be sent next week to state regulators, who are expected to issue a decision next year.

The so-called integrated resource plan is the first for Santee Cooper. The purpose is to show how the utility will meet the projected growing demand on its system and its environmental requirements or goals.

The plan, which was developed after numerous public meetings since last year, provides the “most cost-effective and least ratepayer risk,” according to Santee Cooper.

It would reduce carbon emissions by 56 percent by the mid-2030s compared to 2005 levels, partly by relying less on coal as a fuel source.

“South Carolina needs a modern, cleaner energy portfolio that supports South Carolina’s growing economy and growing adoption of electric vehicles and other power-dependent technologies across the state,” Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton said.

“This portfolio provides all of that, and it equips Santee Cooper to continue to power South Carolina reliably — and affordably — for decades to come,” he added in a written statement.

The plan shows that solar generation will be ramped up to account for 28 percent of the electricity Santee Cooper produces by 2040, or enough to run 500,000 homes, up from 10 percent in 2025.

Over the same period, electricity made from burning coal would decline to 24 percent from 64 percent.

Santee Cooper also is proposing to delay the previously announced closing of the coal units at the Winyah station in Georgetown County to 2031 from late 2027. That would buy it enough time to build a replacement plant elsewhere that will run on natural gas, said Rahul Dembla, chief planning officer.

The Moncks Corner-based utility and Dominion Energy South Carolina are considering working together on that project, which is expected to be constructed at an unidentified site in Hampton County.

Battery storage technology and smaller natural gas generators also would be part of the new long-term energy mix to provide additional electricity during periods of high demand.

The plan is designed to be flexible to allow for additional capacity that Central Electric Power Cooperative — Santee Cooper’s largest customer — will bring to the system through three confidential purchase agreements with other unidentified suppliers starting in 2029.

While acknowledging some disagreements with Santee Cooper, Central CEO Rob Hochstetler said “unequivocally” his group wants to work together to ensure the state can meet its energy needs.

Central, which represents 20 electric cooperatives, endorsed the utility’s recently announced plan to buy a small power station in Gaffney for $17 million to help it meet short-term demand, he noted.

Hochstetler said his organization agrees with Santee Cooper that a new large gas-fired plant needs to be built in South Carolina and wants to be part of that discussion.

The $23.4 billion estimate is the “all-in cost over 30 years to 2052 of the integrated resource plan, including the resources and fuel,” said Mollie Gore, Santee Cooper’s communications manager. “The way we will finance the plan is through a combination of revenues collected and set aside for capital projects and bond debt.”

The utility must submit the proposal to the S.C. Public Service Commission by May 15. After a series of follow-up proceedings, the agency is expected to issue a ruling by March 8. It could approve it, deny it or request changes.