Santee Cooper expands renewable power generation in Lee County

BISHOPVILLE, S.C.--Santee Cooper has doubled the generating capacity of renewable Green Power at its Lee County Generating Station through the installation of a 5-megawatt turbine generator. The $8 million project increases total capacity at the Lee County Generating Station to 10 MWs, making it Santee Cooper’s largest renewable Green Power station.

Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s first utility to generate Green Power beginning in 2001, opened the Lee County Generating Station in 2005 with three 1.8-MW engines. The engines and turbine are fueled by methane gas that is naturally produced by decaying garbage at the adjacent Lee County Landfill, an Allied Waste facility.

Landfill biogas is the cornerstone of Santee Cooper’s renewable energy program, which dates to 2001 when the state-owned utility opened the 3-MW Horry County Landfill Generating Station. The expanded Lee County Generating Station brings Santee Cooper’s renewable generating capacity statewide to 21 MWs.

“This expanded Green Power generating station continues Santee Cooper’s position as the state’s leader in renewable power,” said Lonnie Carter, Santee Cooper president and chief executive officer. “We continue to pursue practical solutions to increasing our renewable energy portfolio, from our ongoing exploration of offshore wind energy to new biogas initiatives like this expanded generating station. We have a great relationship with Allied and its parent, Republic Services, and we are pleased that we can continue to work together to the benefit of our state.”

Lee Postal, general manager of Republic Services, said, “Our investment in this project demonstrates our ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility. Through the expansion of our gas wells, this landfill will continue to serve as a source of clean, renewable energy.”

The additional Lee County generator became commercially operational July 1. In addition to the Horry and Lee facilities, Santee Cooper operates a 5-MW landfill biogas station at the Richland County Landfill and a 3-MW station at the Anderson Regional Landfill.

Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility, and the state’s largest power producer, supplying electricity to more than 163,000 retail customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties, as well as to 31 large industrial facilities, the cities of Bamberg and Georgetown, and the Charleston Air Force Base. Santee Cooper also generates the power distributed by the state’s 20 electric cooperatives to more than 685,000 customers in all 46 counties. Approximately 2 million South Carolinians receive their power directly or indirectly from Santee Cooper. The utility also provides water to 137,000 consumers in Berkeley and Dorchester counties, and the town of Santee. For more information, visit www.santeecooper.com. For information on how Santee Cooper lives green and how you can go green, visit www.SanteeCooperGreen.com.

Republic Services is a leading provider of solid waste collection, transfer, recycling and disposal services. Allied Waste merged with Republic Services in December 2008. Republic Services, Inc. has been building on success since its inception in 1998, becoming an industry-leading provider of waste and environmental services. The company provides trash collection services to commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers in 40 states and Puerto Rico through its 400 collection companies. Republic Services owns or operates 242 transfer stations, 213 solid waste landfills and 78 recycling facilities. The company is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona and has 34,000 employees. For more information, visit the Republic Services web site at www.republicservices.com.