Collaboration to power new solar farm in Orangeburg County

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A collaboration between Google and two S.C. electrical cooperatives will power a new 75-megawatt solar farm in Orangeburg County.

The solar farm is expected to generate 180,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy annually and spur $85 million in economic investment according a news release from Google, which is partnering with the Central Electric Power Cooperative and Berkeley Electric Cooperative.

The Central Electric Power Cooperative provides wholesale electric service to South Carolina’s 20 electric co-ops, while the Berkeley Electric Cooperative serves Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties.

Google operates a $2.4 billion data center in Berkeley County.

“Sustainability has been one of Google’s core values from our earliest days,” Neha Palmer, Google’s director of operations, said in the release. “Today’s announcement will add new renewable energy to a grid where we consume electricity, creating new construction jobs and making clean power and cost savings accessible to local communities.”

Central Electric customers make up approximately 30% of South Carolina’s population, according to the release.

“We enjoy these opportunities to bring together forward-thinking businesses like Google with member-focused electric cooperatives,” Central Electric CEO Robert Hochstetler said. “Solar energy can play an important role for the diversification of our power supply.”

Google said it now has a renewable energy portfolio of 52 projects, including 18 new energy contracts totaling 1,600 megawatts across three continents that increased its worldwide wind and solar capacity to 5,500 MW.

“We support a diverse mix of generation resources that includes both residential and commercial solar,” Dwayne Cartwright, president and CEO of Berkeley Electric, said. “Over the years, we have seen large-scale solar projects such as this become a cost-effective source of generation, making it a benefit to all of our members.”