COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina electric cooperative is one of 6 across the country that is selected to get up to $500 million to purchase roughly 700 megawatts of nuclear and solar energy projects.
Central Electric Power Cooperative serves 19 co-op members across the state, including Tri-County and Mid-Carolina Electric.
Through the New Empowering Rural America program, Central is eligible for funding to cover 25% of project costs. The program is meant to help rural communities transition to clean energy and cut costs. They’ll use part of it to purchase power from solar farms that haven’t been built yet—which will help finance those farms to pay for construction costs, says CEO Rob Hochsteler…