Proposed natural gas plant in Colleton County raises environmental and oversight concerns

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A major natural gas power plant proposed for Colleton County is one step closer to approval.

Titled the “South Carolina 10-Year Energy Transformation Act,” House Bill 5118 was first introduced last month. After spending about five weeks in committee, it passed 83-21 on the House floor Wednesday.

But environmental experts have concerns.

“The largest sources of air pollution in the state are power plants. Nothing puts out as much air pollution as a power plant,” said Eddy Moore, decarbonization director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Moore formally worked for the Coastal Conservation League based in downtown Charleston. He says this would be a move in the wrong direction for South Carolina energy.

READ MORE: "S.C. House OKs bill they say will keep the lights on. Others worry oversight will be lost."

“While much of the country is headed more in the direction of renewable energy, this piece of legislation would move us actually more in the direction of fossil gas,” Moore said. “And that's something that could be expected to last for decades.”

Critics’ concerns aren’t just limited to the environmental impact.

Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC) has continuously compared this power plant proposal to the failed V.C. Summer nuclear plant that was abandoned in 2017.

This new plant would be similarly owned by Santee Cooper and Dominion Energy, which bought South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G), and CVSC claims it too has a lack of necessary oversight.

“While it's not a nuclear facility, many of the same risks are present and we shouldn't pursue a mega project after we just had such a bad disaster with a mega project, especially one with so many unanswered questions,” said John Brooker, CVSC’s energy policy director.

READ MORE: "Colleton County's potential new gas plant stirs statewide debate over House Bill 5118."

Some of those unanswered questions include cost and location.

“We don't know that complete cost of the facility and the major pipeline needed to serve the facility,” Brooker said. “So, we don't know how many billions of dollars it'll cost. We don't know what land will be needed – and what private property will be impacted, what ecological areas will be impacted by this pipeline.”

State lawmakers have passed the bill – so far – without a confirmed total cost or pipeline location, which some say is rushing the necessary process.

The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce is endorsing this bill and its CEO said it's crucial to ensure the future of the state's energy generation capacity.

The bill will now go through this same process in the state senate. If approved, the power plant likely wouldn’t be up and running until at least 2030.

READ MORE: "Retired coal plant's revival as natural gas station sparks debate across South Carolina."