Module manufacturer and project developer, Canadian Solar, has been selected to power the first PV farm in South Carolina.
The facility, known as the Colleton Solar Farm, is located in Walterboro, South Carolina and is owned by TIG Energy I, LLC, a subsidiary of the InterTech Group, Inc.
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The solar farm consists of 10,010 Canadian Solar CS6X-300P “Max Power” modules and has an output capability of 2.5MW. The facility is expected to produce 4,556,000kWh annually, which would be enough energy to power 300 homes.
Grant Reeves, senior vice-president of the InterTech Group, said: “All parties came together to help make this project a success and a showcase for what we hope will be other projects in South Carolina. Our development team, Santee Cooper and the local electric cooperative executed a very compressed construction schedule on time and on budget. The solar farm was designed to provide extensive data on its performance to aid in future solar designs and allow the utilities to gain operational experience. We are pleased to report everything has performed as expected since we brought the Colleton Solar Farm online.”
Construction on the solar farm began on 25 October 2013 and began commercial operation on 20 December 2013.
Dr. Shawn Ou, chairman and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar, said: “We are pleased to be selected to power South Carolina's first solar farm. This was a great project from the design, which optimised space, best practices and both fixed-tilt and single axis tracking panels, through the accelerated construction schedule. We fully appreciate the longer-term, strategic importance a project like this can have to serve as a catalyst for growth of the local market.”
South Carolina is the latest state to embrace the PV market, as the state’s House of Representatives unanimously approved a solar bill on 21 May 2014 that would expand the accessibility of solar power across the Palmetto State.
