Canadian Solar Inc. was selected to power South Carolina's first solar farm. The Colleton Solar Farm, located near Walterboro, South Carolina is owned and operated by TIG Energy I, LLC, a member of The InterTech Group, Inc.
The 2.5MW (AC) Colleton Solar Farm is expected to produce 4,556,000 kWh annually, which would be enough to power 300 residences. The Colleton Solar Farm continues a commitment by Santee Cooper and the electric cooperatives to develop renewable electricity sources across South Carolina, a commitment that dates to 2001 when they dedicated the first Green Power Generating Station in Horry County. Today, they work together to deliver more than 681 MWs of electricity generated from renewable resources including hydro, biomass and landfill biogas, solar and wind.
"All parties came together to help make this project a success and a showcase for what we hope will be other projects in South Carolina,” said Grant Reeves, Senior Vice-President of the Intertech Group. “Our development team, Santee Cooper and the local electric cooperative executed a very compressed construction schedule on time and on budget. The solar farm was designed to provide extensive data on its performance to aid in future solar designs and allow the utilities to gain operational experience."
"We are pleased to be selected to power South Carolina's first solar farm. This was great project from the design, which optimized space, best practices and both fixed-tilt and single axis tracking panels, through the accelerated construction schedule,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar.
