Renewable, clean energy in SC likely to continue to grow, but slowly, under Trump

President Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies are unlikely to stop the growth of renewable and clean energy in South Carolina.

Trump last month signed executive orders that paused funding for energy policies in the Biden’s administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The orders also promoted expanded drilling for natural gas, which, like coal, is considered a fossil fuel because it is nonrenewable and releases greenhouse gases and particulate matter into the air.

He declared a national energy emergency in his inaugural speech.

“The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices,” he said. “And that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill.”

Renewable energy, such as hydroelectric and solar, as well as nuclear energy, which is considered a clean energy source, account for most of South Carolina’s energy production. 

There was once large opposition to nuclear energy production, but with the growing need for more power, support has increased from the Trump and Biden administrations, said Rick Lee, the chairman of the S.C. Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council.

“I think that we’ve gone through a bit of a metamorphosis in the country,” Lee said. “I’m confident we’ll continue to have support for further development of the nuclear industry.”

Regulations and licensing that burden the construction of new nuclear power plants are ongoing issues, Lee said. He hopes that Trump’s pick for the Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner, David Wright, a former South Carolina utility regulator, can fix it. 

Wright is a proponent of reducing the licensing cost of nuclear power plants and improving the licensing process, he said.

“I’m confident that it will result in a shorter turnaround time for the operability of a power plant,” Lee said.

South Carolina’s wind energy future remains bleak after an executive order from Trump. The order halts all permits for future wind energy projects on federal lands and waters.

The Trump administration’s attack on wind energy will deter any future projects, said Conor Harrison, a professor of Economic Geography at the University of South Carolina.

“The industry has had challenges of its own, and when you factor in Trump’s hatred of wind energy, I think it’s going to be very difficult for future projects to move forward,” Harrison said. 

Wind energy tends to be more reliable than other forms of renewables, Harrison said.

Solar farms run about 20 to 25% of the time, while offshore wind farms are closer to 50%, Harrison said.

Solar energy is subsidized by federal tax credits that were expanded under the Inflation Reduction Act, Harrison said. Solar panel manufacturing has increased in the United States, so lawmakers would likely not want to eliminate the incentives driving the growth, he said. 

“So the kind of thinking is that they’re going to take a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer to the IRA,” he said. 

Central Electric Power Cooperative, a power co-op based in Columbia, received $500 million from the Inflation Reduction Act for renewable energy development, according to a press release from The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. 

The funds will be used to purchase power from nuclear and solar sources to be resold to members statewide, according to the press release.

Changes to the Inflation Reduction Act will likely be minimal, Harrison said.

Even if significant changes are made, renewable energy growth sparked by the act will likely continue but at a slower pace, he said.

“I tend to think that we’ll continue to have some growth, just not as fast as it would have been, I think, under a different administration,” he said. “And especially not as fast as it needs to be if you have any kind of concern about climate change.”