Largest Solar Farm In South Carolina Begins Operation
South Carolina solar projects now produce enough power for more than 94,000 homes
Cubico Sustainable Investments (Cubico), a global investor in renewable energy backed by two of Canada’s largest pension funds, and Cypress Creek Renewables (Cypress Creek), a leading national solar and storage company, are proud to announce the successful energization of Palmetto Plains, South Carolina’s largest solar project in operation.
The Palmetto Plains solar project is in Orangeburg County, where Cubico and Cypress Creek also recently announced financial close and start of construction for Huntley Solar, a 100 MWdc solar project. Together, the Huntley and Palmetto Plains projects will provide $11 million in local tax revenue for Orangeburg County over the expected 40-year operational life of the projects.
Cypress Creek is the developer and engineering, procurement and construction provider for Palmetto Plains, as well as Huntley, and will perform the long-term Operations & Maintenance services for both projects.
With the energization of Palmetto Plains, a 106 MWdc solar project, South Carolina now benefits from more than 880 MWdc of solar in operation , enough power for approximately 94,000 homes. Cypress Creek has developed and successfully added 375MWdc across 22 projects to the grid in South Carolina, making Cypress Creek a leading developer of utility scale solar in the state.
Governor Henry McMaster said, “We are excited to have companies like Cypress Creek and Cubico invest in our state and remain proud of all the steps we have taken to welcome the solar industry to South Carolina. With the recent passing of the Energy Freedom Act, we expect to continue to see the rate payers benefit from low cost, environmentally friendly power.”
Senator John W. Matthews Jr. said, “The Energy Freedom Act creates the opportunity for economic development in rural communities; I’m proud of my hometown of Bowman for attracting these opportunities. It is important to involve local communities in innovative industries like solar energy and I’m excited to work with Cypress Creek and Cubico to do so.”
State Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter said, “Orangeburg County continually attracts innovative industries and being home to the largest operational solar farm in South Carolina shows that we have no plans of slowing down. We’re excited to see more diversity in our local energy production due to the recent passage of the Energy Freedom Act.”
Orangeburg County Council Chair Johnnie Wright Sr. said, “We see solar energy as a win-win for our residents: the projects provide long-term revenue to the county as well as clean energy and substantial investments to our community. We’re grateful that Orangeburg County is becoming the solar capital of South Carolina.”
Gregg Robinson, Executive Director, Orangeburg County Development Commission said, “Solar power offers a unique alternative energy option to Dominion and indirectly our own Department of Public Utilities (DPU). Our industries can be proud of the fact that not only are our energy costs way below the national average; but they can offer their customers a unique and “Green” energy mix to the portfolio of power. Thank you for your investment in Orangeburg County and South Carolina.”
Ricardo Díaz, Cubico’s Head of Americas said, “Palmetto Plains represented an exciting new chapter for us when it became the first asset in our USA solar portfolio to start operations. We are proud to see the project producing power and contributing to the sustainability goals of South Carolina.”
Sarah Slusser, CEO of Cypress Creek Renewables, said, “We are proud to energize South Carolina’s largest solar farm, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Orangeburg County community through our management of Palmetto Plains and the construction of Huntley. These are long-term infrastructure assets that will benefit the community.”
About Cubico
Founded in May 2015, Cubico Sustainable Investments is a major investor in the renewable energy sector. Cubico’s global portfolio in nine countries has an installed gross capacity of approximately 2.8 GW. Cubico is headquartered in London and has offices in Uxbridge (UK), São Paulo (Brazil), Fortaleza (Brazil), Milan (Italy), Stamford (US), Mexico City (Mexico), Madrid (Spain), Lyon (France), Sydney (Australia), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Bogotá (Colombia).
About Cypress Creek Renewables
Cypress Creek believes solar makes the world cleaner and healthier. With over 4 gigawatts of solar developed in more than a dozen states and more than 2.2 GW managed, Cypress Creek is one of the country’s leading solar companies. For more information about Cypress Creek, please visit https://ccrenew.com.
