After having its originally proposed integrated resource plan overturned by regulators, the concessionaire took a turn and plans to replace coal with 2 GW of solar energy, up to 900 MW of battery storage and 1 GW of natural gas by 2048.
Just over two months after state regulators overturned Dominion Energy’s proposed integrated resource plan – in part because it did not include any coal retirements before 2028 – the concessionaire announced that it will retire its entire South Carolina coal fleet in 2030 and will add up to 2 GW of solar energy and up to 900 MW of battery storage by 2048.
Dominion, which serves more than 750,000 customers in the state, has announced the proposed retirements in its updated long-term energy plan, although that plan also includes 1 GW of new natural gas energy.
“While we are very happy with the end in sight for Dominion Energy coal in South Carolina, adding fractured gas is a short-sighted measure that means that communities in Orangeburg County will not have the clean, safe energy they deserve,” said Will Harlan, senior representative of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in South Carolina.
As for coal plants, Dominion’s modified energy plan said the utility plans to retire three coal-fired units at Wateree and Williams stations in 2028, as well as convert the Coe Station coal into natural gas by 2030.
It should not be forgotten, the 2 GW of solar capacity and 900 MW of planned storage additions will be a great benefit for South Carolina’s renewable energy portfolio, even though they may be a bit distant.
The state currently has a total installed solar capacity of just over 1.7 GW, which is good for 12th place in the country, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). However, South Carolina was designed by SEIA to add 1.4 GW over the next 5 years, making it 23rd in the nation in that period.
The state has started to embrace more solar energy in recent years, but it has been difficult to achieve consistent growth.
The resource plan that the concessionaire will be moving forward with, Plan 8, foresees 50 MW of solar additions in 2026 and 2027, followed by none in 2028 and 2029, before moving to 100 MW annually by 2048.
A focus on public health
Wateree and Williams stations were immediately in need of renovations to comply with federal rules designed to protect watercourses from mercury, arsenic and other pollutants. When regulators overturned Dominion’s initial integrated resource plan, they informed the concessionaire that it would have to carry out an extensive retirement analysis before it could direct any taxpayer funds to refurbish the factories.
In a statement praising Dominion’s plan to get rid of coal, the Sierra Club noted that all three plants are located in mostly black communities and have been releasing toxic pollution into local water courses for years, which the group says can and has had a significant impact on public health in communities.
“The closure of these plants will be of great benefit to the health of families and children who have been forced to live, work and play in the shade of coal burning plants that pollute the air and the rivers where they sail and fish,” said Harlan. “These communities have fought long and hard for protections that others consider obvious, and now there is hope for real change.”
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