Myrtle Beach - Green Power Purchasing

Summary

Myrtle Beach became the first city in South Carolina to purchase green power for its municipal facilities by subscribing to Santee Cooper's green power program. Under the agreement, Myrtle Beach purchases 155 200-kilowatt-hour (kWh) blocks of green power at an extra cost of approximately 2.9¢/kWh. The city will participate in Santee Cooper's green ower program on an on-oing basis. Myrtle Beach joins approximately 200 local businesses -- including the cities of North Myrtle Beach and Conway -- as a Santee Cooper Green Power Partner. To date, more than 600 Santee Cooper residential and commercial customers in Horry, Georgetown and Berkeley counties have purchased more than 9,000 blocks of Green Power since the 2.2-megawatt (MW) plant began operating in September 2002. Under the program, residential customers can purchase 100-kWh blocks of green power for an extra $3.00 per month. The price for businesses is based on overall power consumption. All proceeds from the program will be used to develop new renewable energy projects. Santee Cooper's Green Power Program was launched in September of 2001. The Green Power Program is Green-e accredited. 19 of the state's 20 electric cooperatives participate. The resources are >99% landfill gas (methane) and <1% solar. Santee Cooper owns all renewable generation, currently 3 landfills and 1 solar demonstration project for a total of 14.2 megawatts.