August 6, 2013
The state
has missed out on millions from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s laws also are blocking projects on Defense
Department sites.
By Mike
Fitts
colanews@scbiznews.com
Published Aug. 5, 2013
South
Carolina’s laws are holding back growth in promising clean energy fields while
other Southeast states are forging ahead, according to several experts on
entrepreneurship in the field.colanews@scbiznews.com
Published Aug. 5, 2013
State
rules require that solar companies be regulated like full-blown utilities if
they sell energy to any third party, even a U.S. military base. This imposes a
burden on startups that is blocking the state’s potential, a top expert in
financing clean energy projects told attendees of the S.C. Clean Energy Summit
on July 11.
“Your
state policy doesn’t lend itself to renewable energy development,” said Lee
Peterson of Cohn
Reznick, an Atlanta-based accounting and tax advisory firm. |
|
Federal
tax laws encourage clean energy projects, and there is substantial capital out
there from hedge funds and other investment groups looking to back them,
Peterson said.
In other
states, Peterson said, entrepreneurs can set up and operate a solar or wind
farm, for instance, and capital investors will buy a majority interest in
exchange for the tax breaks. South Carolina laws shut all that down, except for
projects launched by the major utilities, and the capital flows to other
states.
Missing
out on investment
South Carolina has missed out on
millions from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Peterson
told the conference. North Carolina has gained more than $700 million in clean
energy projects from one of the act’s tax reimbursement provisions, while South
Carolina has only drawn $57 million. That shortfall is directly attributable to
the state’s outdated laws on clean energy investment, Peterson said.
South
Carolina’s laws also are blocking projects on Defense Department sites,
according to Dave McNeil, president of Hannah Solar Government Services. The
Charleston-based company launches renewable energy projects on military bases,
but has none in South Carolina, despite federal incentives.
A bill to
change how South Carolina regulates clean energy (House bill 3425 and similar
Senate bill 536) failed to advance in this year’s legislative session. The
Legislature’s Public Utilities Review Committee has appointed an advisory panel
to work on these issues, and South Carolina Electric & Gas is working in
that process, according to utility spokesman Eric Boomhower. Boomhower points
out that SCE&G has more than 200 customer-owned solar powered generators,
providing or displacing nearly 1.3 megawatts of generating capacity. Owning
your own solar or wind power system avoids the legal issue that has left
entrepreneurs unable to resell power in the state.
The Clean
Energy Summit brought renewable energy entrepreneurs and utility leaders into
the same room together; SCE&G served as one of the event’s sponsors. The
event saw some positive and substantial discussion among the parties, said Tom
French, executive director of the event host, the S.C. Clean Energy Business
Alliance.
“The issue
is complicated, but both sides are trying to define win-win outcomes,” French
said after the summit.
In his
keynote address at the event, Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Camden, noted the
differences of opinion in the room and urged the sides to come together so that
the state can grow its economy and jobs with clean power.
Keeping
dollars at home
Helping clean energy build in the
state would keep billions of dollars here that now flow to other states that
produce fossil fuels, he said.
“This is
an industry we need to get behind,” said Sheheen, considered the likely
Democratic candidate for governor next year.
State
government needs to show more leadership on clean energy, including showing
taxpayers how embracing solar power and energy efficiency can save them money,
Sheheen said. Such projects as solar arrays on state office buildings would
help with government’s huge power costs and help the industry show what it can
accomplish, Sheheen said.
“Our state
government certainly should be a good example,” he said. Sheheen described
constituents
That shows
how much room South Carolina has to improve on energy, Sheheen said. To address
this, Sheheen endorsed making small loans for efficiency improvements
available, to be repaid through customers’ energy bills.
Not
improving energy efficiency and clean energy use would be a waste of the
state’s resources, Sheheen said. So far, the state has fallen behind because of
a lack of leadership on energy, he said.
“The big
vision needs to come from the governor’s office,” Sheheen said.
+(124x76).jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment