Multinational developer to bring $89 million investment to Midlands solar farm
An international renewable energy developer is bringing a solar farm is to Newberry County.
On Thursday, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s office announced an $89 million investment by Ecoplexus, an international renewable energy company.
The project is expected to be online by 2025, according to a news release.
“Today’s announcement by Ecoplexus shows that South Carolina continues to expand and diversify our rapidly growing renewable energy portfolio, creating a brighter and cleaner future for all South Carolinians,” McMaster said in the release.
The San Francisco-based multinational company’s new photovoltaic solar farm will be located at 3840 Island Ford Road in the town of Silverstreet. It will be capable of generating up to 74.94 megawatts of renewable energy, according to the governor’s office.
“Newberry County aims to be a part of the green energy economy, and this is a big step in that direction,” Newberry County Council Chairman Todd Johnson said in a statement. “We welcome the investments of Ecoplexus and look forward to many years of clean energy production right here at home.”
This isn’t Ecoplexus’s first foray into South Carolina. The company, which also has offices in Durham, N.C., is developing a 75 megawatt solar project named Hemingway in Williamsburg County. It is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2023, according to the company’s website.
In 2021, utility provider Santee Cooper contracted with Ecoplexus for a share of a 425 megawatt project, representing 40% of South Carolina’s total solar capacity, that is being developed across multiple projects in South Carolina.
Ecoplexus describes itself as having projects in six countries around the world currently generating 750 megawatts of power, with an additional 7,600 in development.
The Columbia Energy Center operated by Dominion Energy currently generates 540 megawatts, according to Dominion.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 3:14 PM.