Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:
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March 8
The Post and Courier (of Charleston) on farmland for solar farms:
In parts of rural South Carolina, a little extra income could be the difference between the poverty line and a middle class life for some households. The state has the chance to help those households with a significant windfall and provide cleaner energy for thousands of other residents at the same time.
That’s an opportunity worth seizing.
Over the past few years, the solar industry in neighboring Georgia and North Carolina, along with several other states, has worked to help landowners convert unused farmland to mini power plants.
Landowners earn rent on property that was otherwise being wasted. Solar companies earn money and employ workers. Utilities add renewable energy to their portfolios. And thousands of residents get clean, green electricity.
It’s a pretty great deal all around.
But other states have offered substantial tax breaks in order to make solar more competitive with other energy sources and allow companies to pay a healthy rent for the land they use - as much as $750 per acre per year. South Carolina hasn’t caught up quite yet.
As of last year, solar companies had invested about $245 million in this state. Georgia, by comparison, has enjoyed $1.9 billion in investment and North Carolina a whopping $5.5 billion, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
That’s why bills in the S.C. Statehouse would offer a statewide tax break of 80 percent for solar farms that set up shop on unused agricultural land. It’s a major break, for sure, and the solar industry owes it to South Carolinians to prove that it’s worth the cost.
It’s also important that South Carolina consider the impact on the state’s agricultural industry. After all, converting farmland to solar facilities obviously reduces the amount of property available for growing food.
But farmland is exceptionally good for solar energy production. It’s usually flat and already cleared, for example. And if it’s not being used for anything, it makes sense to let rural landowners cash in on a technology that could supercharge South Carolina’s renewable electricity portfolio.
Indeed, at least 90 rural properties are already under consideration for solar farms across the state, according to the S.C. Solar Alliance. Those projects are on hold, however, pending the outcome of the tax break legislation.
The state already generates a lot of electricity with relatively low carbon emissions - and that’s about to be doubly true if and when two new nuclear reactors under construction in Fairfield County go online. Further reducing the state’s dependence on fossil fuels is still a worthy goal, however.
That’s because the entire South Carolina coastline is under threat from rising sea levels related to climate change. And increasingly unpredictable patterns of drought and rainfall threaten inland areas as well - particularly farmland.
So solar power is definitely something worth encouraging in South Carolina. And if it’s going to take a tax break to compete with neighboring states, that’s unquestionably something the Legislature should seriously consider.
If farms aren’t being used for food - or any other kind of agriculture - it just makes sense to use them to harvest the power of the sun.
Online:
https://www.postandcourier.com
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March 7
The Herald of Rock Hill on protecting South Carolina’s habitat and wildlife from construction:
Bills making their way through the S.C. House and Senate would weaken the ability of state residents to challenge construction in environmentally sensitive areas across South Carolina. We think that’s the wrong approach.
Bills in both houses seek to limit legal challenges to state environmental permits that protect habitat and wildlife. The bills seek to speed up construction of controversial projects that are opposed by citizens.
One example is a project being pushed by Horry County lawmakers who are in a battle with environmentalists over construction of a new road through prime bear habitat in a nature preserve near Myrtle Beach. Proponents of the project say the road is essential to relieving traffic congestion in Myrtle Beach.
Opponents say the road would destroy much of the habitat and imperil bears, which might run in front of cars. Environmentalists say the project at least should include barriers to keep bears off the road.
For now, however, the case is under legal appeal at the S.C. Administrative Law Court. Under current law, projects under appeal are halted until all appeals have been resolved by the court.
The bills now being considered in the Legislature would allow development to proceed before the appeals are resolved. That, we think, has it backward.
Letting work begin before appeals are resolved would severely limit the ability of ordinary citizens to challenge bureaucratic decisions. In essence, protected land would be at the mercy of developers, who could begin potentially destructive projects before a final decision has been made regarding the legitimacy of the project.
In many cases, no doubt, the damage to environmentally sensitive areas would not be able to be undone if developers lose the case on appeal. We think the appeals process needs to be completed before work begins.
These cases are not limited to environmentally pristine land. In some cases, residents have opposed construction landfills that not only would destroy habitat but also would affect the economic well-being of nearby residents.
The answer to shortening the appeals process is to put pressure on the Administrative Law Court to make a decision. There is no reason why such cases should languish for more than a year.
Denying residents the right to challenge projects is not the way to resolve the logjam. The appeals process needs to be able to proceed to its final conclusion.
Online:
https://www.heraldonline.com
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March 2
The Island Packet of Hilton Head on Beaufort County and real estate development:
Beaufort County should not be in the real estate development business.
County Council should stop plans to construct a new $4 million office building on land the county owns adjacent to the Myrtle Park facility off Bluffton Parkway.
Private owners of office space should not have to compete against the county government in the free marketplace.
Certainly, the government should encourage economic development and a diversified economy. But it does not need to be a real estate developer to do that, and it should not be a real estate developer. That is the wrong answer. It is misuse of funds. It is a misuse of time and talent by the county staff.
Instead, the government should lay the groundwork for others to succeed.
That includes seeing to it that roads are not clogged, rivers are not polluted, potholes are filled, utilities are in place, growth is controlled, parking and public transportation are available, and tax rates are reasonable.
The county should have its hands full providing first responders to save lives and property. It should focus on the many subtle ways government makes a community enticing for private development: police, courts, judges, jails, prosecutors, public defenders, solid waste disposal, land and development-rights acquisition, building inspections, code enforcement, regional planning, libraries, beautification, stormwater management, animal control, mosquito control, and planning for natural disasters, to name a few.
Most importantly, the government can diversify the economy by investing more in schools, through the Beaufort County School District, the Technical College of the Lowcountry and the University of South Carolina Beaufort. The greatest incentive available for economic development is a smart workforce. And that investment does more than anything to improve the overall quality of life, which is the other primary incentive for new business.
The only real estate development the government should be involved in is the grunt work behind the scenes. It should do the things that the private sector cannot do by itself. It should enable the private sector to sell “location, location, location.”
That is the role of government.
If we have learned anything over the past 60 years in Beaufort County, it is that the private sector is perfectly capable of real estate development. Beaufort County should get out of this boondoggle before the first spade of dirt is turned.
Online:
https://www.islandpacket.com
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