S.C. electric co-ops oppose gas power plant regulations

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - South Carolina’s electric cooperatives are ing two lawsuits challenging new federal emissions regulations because experts fear it will limit the ability to provide reliable and affordable power to customers.

The Environmental Protection Agency put the regulations in place on emissions from coal and new power plants.

Berkeley Electric Cooperative CEO Mike Fuller says those two principles are the core of co-ops.

“Berkeley Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit. Our purpose in life is safe, reliable and affordable power, and when these proposals come out, or in some cases, not even proposal, the rules, that affect reliability and affordability, then that’s something that we’re obligated to be a part and be the voice of our member owners of our consumers,” Fuller says.

He says the industry welcomes clean energy like solar and battery power and has significantly moved away from coal, but there is still a need for gas plants to the power demand.

“I think it’s no surprise probably anywhere in South Carolina but especially here in the Lowcountry. We have a tough time keeping up with demand anyway. So all it takes is one cold snap and it could be catastrophic to our system and the lights will go out so it will be a blackout. Now, like I said, we put the systems in place, but with the demand we’re seeing I don’t know that we can pump the brakes,” Fuller says.

The EPA’s rule would require coal and gas plants to limit emissions starting in 2032 and meet new emissions standards. The co-ops say this means they will have to scale down their output or capture and store emissions using technology they don’t believe has been proven effective yet.

Environmentalists say the EPA rightfully has this power to regulate emissions and fossil fuels are the largest creators of greenhouse gases that threaten the environment.

“I definitely believe that EPA should have the authority to regulate air emissions, which is what you’re doing here,” Coastal Conservation League Energy and Climate Program Director Taylor Allred says. “Greenhouse gas emissions, have a well understood well documented, negative impact on public health. Climate change is already being felt very acutely here in Charleston, where we’ve seen a dramatic increase in coastal flooding.”

Fuller says the Berkeley Electric Cooperative and other co-ops that work with Santee Cooper Electric are actively taking on solar as a power source. Santee Cooper has committed to adding 300 megawatts of solar every year from 2026 to 2032. Each megawatt will be able to power 740 homes.

“So we’re already doing that, but where we’re at with these new gas plants, there’s got to be a transition. We can just go straight to solar,” Fuller says.

Fuller uses December of 2022 as an example of a time the companies keep front of mind during decision-making. A cold snap threatened the grid then.

“Really cold, probably 4:35 in the morning, phones started blowing up that, ‘Hey, we’re at a critical stage that we are likely to have to have rolling blackouts.’ So we were in a position that we were trying to figure out which feeders were going to go out because we did not have the capacity to serve the level of demand that was out there,” Fuller says.

He says it’s too soon to rely fully on solar and battery in a situation like that, so to be energy-independent and meet needs, new gas plants are needed. Co-op reps say Santee Cooper expects its demand to increase by 40% by 2030.

But, Allred says from an environmental standpoint and considering finances, he doesn’t see the purpose of investing in new gas plants.

“Particularly building new fossil fuel infrastructure at this point, it’s going to be far more costly for all of us, you know, not only in of the pollution impacts, but it’s frankly just expensive, and the utilities know that U.S. ratepayers bear all of the risk for fluctuations in fossil fuel costs. And gas in particular has very volatile costs,” Allred says.

He thinks of attempted and later demanded plants that ended up costing taxpayers in the long run and is wary of investing in new gas plants.

“While we’ve made some progress, particularly on retiring some coal plants, we still have a long way to go. Fossil fuels are the biggest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions that are driving global climate change. They also have a lot of negative impacts on local air and water quality,” Allred says.

Fuller says the transition to clean energy while still having reliable energy is everyone’s goal, they just disagree about the direct path to reach the goal.

“I think by adding by adding more gas generation, it allows us to bring more solar on because it’s pairing of the two. So they have to equal because when the solar isn’t available, we have the gas,” Fuller says.

The nationwide issue can be seen on the state scale in South Carolina’s energy reform bill, which has leaders saying a new gas plant is needed in Canadys to secure energy independence, while some who live there are wary of the fossil fuel impacts in their backyard. Lawmakers are in a special session working on the bill now.

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