South Carolina Utility Plans to Retire Six Older Fossil Fuel-Fired Generating Units

摘要

Santee Cooper, an electric power utility operated by South Carolina, plans to retire six generating units at its two oldest facilities, a spokeswoman for the company told BNA Oct. 22. According to Mollie Gore, recent regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency to control mercury and air toxics were a primary driver for the utility's decision. Installing the necessary technology "would be cost-prohibitive," Gore said. "We can get by" without their generating capacity until a nuclear facility comes on line. The closures involve four coal-fired generating units and two oil-fired units, representing a total electrical generating capacity of 568 megawatts. Two of the coal-fired units, which began generating in the 1970s, and the two oil-fired units, which date back to 1954, are located at Santee Cooper's Jefferies Generating Station in Moncks Corner, S.C., according to Gore. She said no date has been set for those units to cease operation.