Kingstree East 230 Solar Project

Synapse provided expert witness services to Kingstree East 230 to support its application before the South Carolina Public Service Commission for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Convenience and Necessity (CECPCN) for construction and operation of a 249 MW solar facility in Williamsburg County, South Carolina.

Synapse’s testimony focused on demonstrating that the Kingstree East Project meets the statutory requirements to apply for a CECPCN. We address how the facility meets the statutory need requirement based on the integrated resource plans (IRPs) of regional utilities and explain how it provides economic and reliability benefits to the state of South Carolina.

Overall, we found that there is a demonstrated need for the Project based on the long-term resource plans developed by Santee Cooper and Central Electric Power Cooperative. Both utilities identified incremental solar PV as part of a least-cost electricity system for South Carolina. Further, Santee Cooper has discussed challenges with procuring sufficient solar, making the need for developers to put forward viable solar projects even stronger. Additionally, Santee Cooper has issued a request proposal for solar.