Solar farm, hydroelectric plant could boost Columbia’s power supply
Two projects could add 7 megawatts of power to the grid in the Columbia metropolitan area — and potentially add some money to the city’s coffers.
Both proposals were put forward in Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin’s State of the City address on Wednesday. One would add a solar farm to the grounds of the city’s wastewater treatment plant on Interstate 77. Another would reboot the hydroelectric station on the Columbia canal, shut down since it was damaged in the 2015 flood.
The city is working to add a field of solar panels to two or three acres of vacant property next to the sewage treatment plant on the banks of the Congaree River. Benjamin said the move is part of Columbia’s “continued commitment to sustainability.”
Columbia’s water department is working with the energy company Con Edison on a feasibility study to determine how the solar farm could be tied in to Dominion Energy’s local power grid, said assistant city manager Clint Shealy. Once they are up and running, the juice from the panels could either be sold to Dominion for use on its grid, or used by the city itself to lower its own power bill.
As soon as next year, the panels could add two megawatts per day to the area’s power supply — “when the sun is shining,” Shealy adds.
“There’s a lot of space” at the treatment plant, Shealy says. “There’s the potential for expansion.”
In the same speech Wednesday, Benjamin committed the city to getting the canal hydroelectric plant back up and running. That plant has been offline since the canal was breached in the 2015 flood. Once operational, the plant would add another 5 megawatts per day to the area’s power output, the mayor said.
But that power boost is dependent on final repairs to the canal, which are now on the horizon, Shealy said.
The city is close to an agreed scope of work to be covered by $42 million in federal funds from FEMA, and the city has begun an environmental assessment ahead of repair work getting under way.
Between the FEMA money and state funding, “we should have enough for restoration without (Columbia) ratepayers paying for it,” Shealy said.
Agreement with FEMA opens the door to the dam finally being repaired and the breach that once yawned 85-feet wide during the 2015 flood being fixed. The scope of repairs will also cover erosion caused by the drop in the water level during the breach.
That will allow the plant to get back up and working, with a maximum daily output of 10 megawatts depending on the height and flow of the river, Shealy said. But that power is likely still a few years away, due to the scale of work that needs to be done to the canal, he said. The city will also have to strike a new power contract with Dominion, since its deal with the former SCANA has long since lapsed.
“But regardless, this will put good, green power back on the grid,” Shealy said. “We can either use it directly, or put into the grid with Dominion.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 1:18 PM.
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