NEWBERRY COUNTY — Newberry County Council convened on Monday, August 9, for a special workshop on solar farms, with an eye toward developing ordinances and zoning requirements for possible solar power farm installations in the county.
The workshop stemmed from a request by a landowner in the county to rezone a tract of land so that a 450 acre solar farm can be constructed on it. The workshop featured speakers from the South Carolina Energy Office, the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina and local residents with comments and concerns about such installations.
Stacey Washington, an energy specialist with the S.C. Energy Office who specializes in solar power, spoke on how solar panels work, environmental concerns and the pros and cons of solar installations. Washington said that solar panels use cadmium telluride and silicon to convert sunlight to electric current. Inverters convert the electricity from DC (direct current) to AC (alternating current), which is used in electric power grids and in homes and businesses. She said there is an ongoing study regarding disposal of solar panels once their useful lifespan of 25 to 35 years has been reached. She listed pros and cons of solar installations: a positive income stream throughout the life of the panels, low maintenance, and workforce development potential. Cons include high initial cost, space needed, and weather dependency.
“No sunlight, no energy produced,” she said.
Asked about how foreign countries are dealing with solar power issues, Washington answered, “U.S. Department of Energy is studying how others have handled the technology.”
Mike Smith, an electrical engineer who works with the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, added to the workshop with what he described as a “high view” of solar power over the past decade or so.
“In 2008,” he said, “one third of a gigawatt of solar power was produced across the U.S. Last year, the total was 16 gigawatts.”
He clarified with definitions of watts, kilowatts, gigawatts, and kilowatt hours. Smith reiterated that the expected life of a solar panel is 25 to 35 years, and added that inverters will probably last 10 to 15 years. Major questions, Smith said, include how solar power is paid for, and how dependable it is.
Per Smith, solar power producers and energy companies enter into “purchase power agreements” which are typically 20 years in length. As to dependability, Smith said, “South Carolina averages five hours of sunshine per day, for a 20% generation factor. Solar is not considered an on demand source, but more ‘passive generation,’ since it depends on weather and other factors – like time of day. By comparison, gas, coal, and other fuel-burning technologies, are available on demand. The demand for pollution-free power is increasing.”
Smith continued with discussion of the pros and cons of solar versus other power sources. Nuclear, he said, is available on demand and is carbon-free, but disposal of spent nuclear fuel is still a major problem. Biomass, in which methane gas is captured from buried garbage, requires significant amounts of land and an efficient capture technology. The average home solar installation, he said, is 36 panels. Connection to the electrical grid is required, and any solar installation is best near existing transmission lines. Smith also spoke about the electrical grid.
“It’s a balancing act,” he said. “You try to balance demand against availability, and it can be tricky. And you have to accomplish that balance with a mix of different sources.”
He spoke about the Hawaiian island of Kauai, which is a self-contained grid cut off by ocean from any other electrical grid.
“They’re now at 67% renewable energy, mixing hydro, biomass, and solar. Reliability of solar has gone up, but a battery system is needed to store energy for times when it’s not generated by the panels,” he said.
Weather is a major consideration with solar, Smith said.
“Movable panes produce more energy because they follow the sun, but they too require energy to move. If there’s an ice storm, movable panels can lock up. They have to be designed to stand up to tornadoes,” he said.
Regarding nuclear power, Smith said, “if you stop building in the middle of a construction project, you get nothing. With solar, if you stop halfway through the project, you still get 50% of the power.”
Several local people spoke to County Council about the issue. Bill Parr, a local resident, said he and his wife installed 36 solar panels at their home on Belfast Road.
“It’s far exceeded our expectations,” he said.
Two local residents raised questions about the environmental safety of solar panels. Karl Brehmer and James Floyd, who owns the property next to the subject parcel of land, both raised concerns about potential pollution from the project. However, Washington had previously stated in her comments that cadmium telluride is securely bonded to glass in solar panels, and the chance of leakage into the environment is slim.
In closing remarks, Newberry County Council members asked various questions, including the effect on livestock. “None,” was the reply.
Councilperson Les Hipp finished the comments: “If we shut the door on this project, we’re shutting solar out of the county.”