South Carolina Emerging as an Important Market for Solar

This past spring, South Carolina passed the Energy Freedom Act, opening up the state’s solar market. The legislation is said by advocates to drive implementation of PURPA contracts for projects sitting in queues, reform the integrated resource planning process to introduce greater transparency, and permanently eliminate caps on net metering. South Carolina was the fifth largest solar market in the United States in the first quarter of 2019, emerging as a star of the region along side North Carolina. Both Cypress Creek and Cubico Sustainable Investments have contributed to South Carolina’s movement and growth in the market by formally commissioning the state’s largest solar plant to date— a 106 MWdc project in Orangeburg County called Palmetto Plains. Moreover, Cypress Creek also began construction on another project in Orangeburg County consisting of 100 MWdc. With the addition of the Palmetto Plains project, South Carolina will have over 886 MWdc, according to data by Solar Energy Industries Association.

Second Quarter Shows Record High for Wind Farm Development

According to a report by the American Wind Energy Association, over 200 wind projects are under construction or in advanced development in 33 states. These new projects represent a 10% year-over-year increase and a new landmark moment for the wind industry, combining to 41, 801 MW. In the second quarter alone, the wind industry installed 736 MW of new wind power capacity. New wind power capacity installations for this year in the first and second quarter total 1,577 MW. Though the number of new capacity installations dropped slightly between first and second quarter by a little over 100 MW, the total of both quarters represents a 53% increase over the first half of 2018. 

Currently, there are 97,960 MW of cumulative installed wind capacity in the United States, and 57,000 wind turbines operate across 41 states as well as 2 U.S. territories. Across the country, 19 states have over 1,000 MW of installed wind capacity. Texas, as the leader in installed capacity, has over 25 GW of wind power installed as of the second quarter of 2019. With two quarters left in 2019, and the fourth quarter historically the highest quarter for wind installations, it does not seem impossible for the United States to reach the 100 GW milestone by the end of the year.

Duke Energy Program Will Allow Large Customers to Negotiate Directly with Renewable Energy Suppliers in North Carolina

An expansion of Duke Energy’s Green Source Advantage (GSA) program will provide its large nonresidential electric customers with new options for obtaining renewable energy. Customers will now have up to 600 MW initially available under the program, compared to the 250 MW currently open for subscription. This program permits large customers to negotiate certain terms with renewable energy suppliers, including the purchase of the renewable energy certificates (RECs) from generation facilities and length of contract terms. Applications for the GSA program will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, beginning on October 1, 2019.