South Carolina lawmakers advance bill boosting gas development, raising concerns over potential impact on solar energy growth.

South Carolina lawmakers are advancing a bill that could stimulate gas-fired development for Santee Cooper, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy utilities, while potentially hamper solar development in the state. The bill, approved by the South Carolina House on March 28, authorizes Santee Co. to form a joint venture with Dominion to build up to 2 GW of gas-generated generation at the site of the retired Canadys coal-fired power plant. It also encourages Duke to roughly double the size of its 1,640-MW Bad Creek pumped storage project and add 7GW of gas capacity. Renewable energy developers such as EnergyRe and Pine Gate Renewables argue that the bill should require utilities to acquire the roughly 8 GW of solar that is included in their approved integrated resource plans. However, the bill could change in the Senate.