City, county take a shine to solar

Sunshine and jail are two things that don't usually go together, but there could soon be a close connection in Charleston County.

The huge, flat roofs of the county's detention center complex could become home to the largest array of solar panels in the Lowcountry, if the county's plans are successful.

The detention center is responsible for the county's largest electricity bills, and its $100 million expansion now under construction is expected to roughly double power consumption, to around 8.5 million kilowatts yearly.

Covering the roofs with hundreds of American-made solar panels could offset a portion of the power needs, an estimated 640,000 kilowatts, and the county has applied for more than $1.1 million in federal stimulus grants to make it happen.

The panels would more than pay for themselves and would save taxpayers money, according to county estimates.

Deputy Facilities Manager Gilbert Pohl believes the value of the project could be greater than the projected cash benefits, because it could help attract clean energy companies to the area.

"I really believe the government needs to take the lead on this," Pohl said. "We need to get the seed planted."

The city of Charleston separately is taking a similar approach, seeking a smaller federal stimulus grant to put solar panels on the roof of 75 Calhoun St., a building that houses city offices and the Charleston School District's administrative offices.

"What I've been calling it is a market transformation program," said Brian Sheehan, Charleston's recently-hired director of sustainability. "The goal is to use this potentially high-profile project to learn some lessons about our permit and approval process."

Charleston has requested a $93,000 grant for the project, which has a total cost of $169,000.

The solar panels account for most of the expense, but the project also includes an education and outreach component, and is aimed at reviewing city regulations that would affect anyone who wants to install a solar power system.

The county's larger initiative would come in several phases, the first two of which have been recommended to the South Carolina Energy Office by the Berkeley-Dorchester-Charleston Council of Governments.

The county is requesting $325,000 for those phases, for design work and a 157-kilowatt solar array.

The county estimates the solar panels in the first two phases would save county taxpayers more than $1.4 million over the course of 30 years.

The county is competing for that money only with other applicants from the tri-county area that were reviewed by BDC-COG, and the county's application was among the top-ranked proposals.

"We feel pretty good about the first two," Pohl said.

John Clark, director of the state Energy Office, said the South Carolina Research Authority will review the proposals to make sure the scientific assumptions and projections of cost savings are sound.

"We're trying to spend money on stuff that makes sense, from the standpoint of cost-effectiveness," he said. "If that money is going to be repaid three or four times over, then that is a good use of taxpayer money."

The grant applications for the larger third and fourth phases of the county's solar initiative, along with Charleston's grant application, will face greater competition. They are among about $8 million in statewide grant requests competing for $2.8 million in federal funds for renewable energy projects.

Clark said a decision on the first-round grants for the tri-county area should be made by mid-December, and the statewide grant requests could be decided upon in January.

Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postandcourier.com.