COLUMBIA, S.C. — The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is once again partnering with local farmers and small businesses across the United States to "expand access to clean energy and lower energy bills" through the agency's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and Rural Energy for America Technical Assistance Grant Program. In South Carolina, that means a total of $5,531,058 will be going to fund four projects in three counties that could eventually lower energy costs for surrounding homes and businesses.
While REAP encourages the expansion of alternative energy sources such as wind, geothermal and small hydropower energy sources, in South Carolina, the alternative energy source is usually a solar farm. The four projects receiving money in South Carolina are:
- Walter P. Rawl & Sons Inc.: $944,212 grant to assist with the purchase and installation of a 899.3 kilowatt (kW) direct current (DC) ground-mount photovoltaic (PV) solar array. This is a Lexington County-based farming operation that grows leafy greens for retail and the food service industry. This project will realize $84,523 per year in savings and will replace 1,418,867 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which is enough electricity to power 131 homes.
- Ashley Solar, LLC: $1,790,000 loan, $1,000,000 grant to be used to assist with purchase and installation of a 3.564 MWdc commercial utility scale solar array. Ashley Solar LLC is a newly created entity for the purpose of generating electricity in Darlington County. The system is estimated to produce 4,538,200 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which is enough electricity to power 419 homes.
- Luz Solar, LLC: $702,000 loan, $1,000,000 grant to be used to purchase and install a 1.782 Megawatts defined conditions (MWDC) commercial utility scale solar array. Luz Solar LLC is a newly created entity for the purpose of generating electricity in Darlington County. The system is estimated to produce 2,282,300 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which is enough electricity to power 211 homes
- Robert C. Coleman & Richard L. Myers: $94,846 grant to be used to assist Robert C. Coleman and Richard L. Myers dba C&M Hog Farms LLC in Dillon County to purchase and install a new GSI 1226 grain dryer. This project will realize $9,666 per year in savings and will save 81,178 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which is enough electricity to power eight homes.
USDA continues to accept REAP as well as other loan and grant applications to help grow and strengthen the nation's food and energy supply chains and infrastructure. To learn more, visit usda.gov
