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We’ve seen a project like this before, and it ended in disaster for South Carolina electric customers
The failed VC Summer nuclear plant led to 5000 jobs lost and $9 billion of wasted funds. These are the consequences of treating one large energy project as the solution to all our energy needs.
The cost of the proposed Edisto River gas plant and pipeline has yet to be disclosed, but like VC Summer, it will likely cost South Carolina customers billions of dollars.
Even if the plant is constructed, utility customers pay 100% of the costs of supplying fuel to the plant, leaving us with even higher bills.
Independent observers urge caution on this mega-project.
An independent report commissioned by state regulators questions the gas mega-project and urges Santee Cooper to consider alternate options instead of treating gas as a foregone conclusion. Read more here!
While fossil fuel costs are rising, clean energy technologies like solar and battery storage are getting cheaper every day.
This gas plant will take too long to construct and be too unreliable to address our energy needs, including during emergencies.
Winter Storm Elliott showed how unreliable natural gas can be: 63% of unavailable megawatts occurred at gas plants. Gas isn’t a silver bullet.
Natural gas must be piped in from other states, ceding our energy independence and resilience. But investing in renewables means investing in South Carolina’s economy.
With over 100 miles of pipeline upgrades needed, construction will take—at a minimum—seven years. Clean energy, energy storage, and energy efficiency can meet our needs more quickly.
South Carolina’s precious natural resources are our greatest assets and need to be protected, but increasing our dependence on polluting fossil fuels takes us in the opposite direction.
The proposed gas plant will emit air pollutants and heat-trapping gases and worsen pollution at its site on the Edisto River.
The proposed plant’s 40-year lifespan would lock South Carolina into significant greenhouse gas emissions and pollution for decades.