Utility to offer loans for solar panels

Santee Cooper, the state-owned utility in Moncks Corner, last week announced that it will offer interest-free loans up to $40,000 to customers hoping to purchase solar panels.

The utility, which provides electricity to about 40 percent of the state, is facing a power shortage in the next few years and is encouraging businesses and homeowners to conserve energy and generate their own power (although, at the same time, it is fighting environmentalists in a bid to build a new coal-burning plant).

"We think it's a way for us to really go above and beyond to make solar a viable option for people," said Laura Varn, Santee Cooper corporate communications.

Solar power is a lot of things, but cheap isn't one of them. Environmental groups peg the cost of a solar system for the average home around $20,000.

But that price tag is getting trimmed by green initiatives like Santee Cooper's new loans.

The state of South Carolina now offers tax credits to cover a quarter of the cost of a photovoltaic system up to $3,500, and Uncle Sam will kick in up to $2,000 more in tax credits on solar panel purchases.

Santee Cooper's announcement was particularly timely. On Friday, just a few hours later, the utility posted a record-high demand, as plummeting temperatures forced generators to crank out 5,649 megawatts.

The previous record, 5,563 megawatts, was set during a heat wave in August.

Check out the utility's newest green tendencies at www. SanteeCooperGreen.com.

Settle down now

The former chief executive officer for Zestra Laboratories Inc. , a local company that makes sexual arousal fluid for women, has settled a defamation lawsuit against the product's inventor.

Younis Zubchevich filed the lawsuit against the North Charleston company in July, saying that his reputation was damaged, partly because Zestra founder Martin Crosby fired him in front of other employees.

Crosby ousted Zubchevich in May, giving him 15 minutes to leave the office building. A uniformed police officer monitored the event.

A complaint filed later in Charleston County Court of Common Pleas alleged that Crosby "offered no justification" for the firing. When Zubchevich tried to ask questions, he was told by the police officer "that he would be arrested if he did not vacate the premises immediately," according to the lawsuit.

Court records show the suit was settled last month. Terms were not disclosed. Neither party returned calls Friday.

Zestra has been widely described as a female version of Viagra. Developed by Crosby, a clinical pharmacist, the company's patented topical "arousal" fluid is made from botanicals. The product is sold in more than 35,000 locations, including drugstores such as Walgreens.

Changing the clock

The clock that's been set to count down the five-year development agreement between the State Ports Authority and the town of Port Royal — plans that would transform the Port of Port Royal into a plush waterfront community — is likely to start ticking about a year later than planned.

The agreement was due to start in June last year, but a potential buyer for the 51-acre Beaufort County property wasn't found until November, when the SPA accepted a nearly $26 million bid for the site.

Assuming the deal goes through, the sale isn't expected to close for about another three months or so, and the buyer, Port Royal Harbour LLC, thinks that's when the clock should start. The agreement would remain a five-year deal, but just delayed a little.

Port Royal town council needs to vote twice to allow the change. Given its long-held desire for the port to close and the wrecking ball to move in, approval could sail through.

The agreement between the SPA and the town calls for the site to be redeveloped into a mix of housing, commercial space and a marina.

The 50-year-old docks are all but closed, and the SPA's last remaining tenant, a fertilizer company, has said no more of its ships will call at Port Royal.