St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center on Johns Island will be installing solar water heaters in several buildings thanks to a federal renewable energy grant awarded by the S.C. Budget and Control Board’s State Energy Office.

The grant is one of two Charleston-area renewable energy projects funded as part of $2.8 million awarded to nine non-profit organizations and government entities in South Carolina.

St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center was awarded $111,500 to install 17 solar hot water systems on 15 housing structures and in the conference center. The new solar systems will be incorporated into student orientations, coursework and conference planning tours. Educational displays throughout the camp will explain their purpose and use. Approximately 400,000 teachers, students, and visitors will study and/or use these systems which will help the center save more than $363,000 over the life of the project. 

Also in Charleston area, Berkeley Electric Cooperative will be installing solar water heating systems in homes through a grant awarded to Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.

Four cooperatives will share the $500,000 grant to install 70 solar water heating systems in homes of members of York Electric Cooperative, Berkeley Electric Cooperative, Santee Electric Cooperative and Pee Dee Electric Cooperative. The cooperatives will study the units to determine how to improve water heating efficiency for all consumers. This project will save the participating homeowners a total of more than $1 million over the life of the equipment.

“As both St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center and members of the cooperatives receive new solar water heating systems, they will be working to replace fossil fuel from outside of the state with renewable energy produced in South Carolina,” said John Clark, director of the energy office. 

Other South Carolina projects funded through this program are:

• $500,000 to Renewable Water Resources (ReWa) to install generators that create electricity from methane gas released from the break down of waste from the water waste treatment process.
• $500,000 to Claflin University to install the state’s first solar adsorption cooling system on its campus that uses solar power to create hot water and then cool water to provide a portion of its heating and cooling needs for the new Bio-Energy Park and Research Campus.
• $475,000 to Santee Cooper to install solar panels on the roof of its buildings in Myrtle Beach, creating the “Grand Strand Solar Station,” the largest solar system in the state.
• $340,000 to Furman University to install solar panels on the roof of the Physical Activities Center which will provide electricity to the campus.
• $240,000 to Plug In Carolina to install 28 electric vehicle charging stations in Union, Rock Hill and Myrtle Beach.
• $100,906 to The Columbia Museum of Art to install solar panels on the roof of its building and to create a monitoring system where patrons will be able to view the amount of power created.
• $49,594 to York County Natural Gas Authority (YCNGA) to convert seven Ford F-150 light duty trucks to utilize compressed natural gas.

The nine grants will save a total of $7.7 million in energy costs over the life of the projects. Applicants are contributing a total of $3.6 million in cost-share for the projects, or a match of $1.31 for every $1 invested by the grant.

In order to be considered for these grants, projects had to foster market penetration of clean energy technologies, provide sustained reduction of fossil fuel consumption and create permanent jobs in South Carolina. Organizations must implement the projects within two years of receiving the award.

These projects are funded through a grant from the Department of Energy under Award Number(s) DE-EE0000158.