Solar power in South Carolina is rapidly becoming competitive with grid electricity, due to the decrease in cost and the eight-year extension to the 30% federal tax credit, which can be used to install any size system.[1] South Carolina offers a 25% tax credit, meaning that 55% of the cost is covered through tax credits.[2]
South Carolina's largest solar installation was the 311 kW Grand Strand Solar Station array in Myrtle Beach, completed on April 18, 2011,[3] until December 2, 2011, when Boeing completed covering the roof of their 787 assembly building with a 2.6 MW solar array, sufficient for 20% of the building's energy use.[4] [5]
DateFormat = x.yPeriod = from:0 till:6TimeAxis = orientation:verticalScaleMajor = unit:month increment:1 start:0
TextData = pos:(15,220) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:hrs pos:(205,25) textcolor:black fontsize:S text:Month pos:(90,230) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:Columbia Sun Hours/day (Avg = 5.10 hrs/day)
Colors = id:yellow value:yellow
PlotData= width:20 textcolor:black bar:Jan color:yellow from:0 till:3.81 text:3.81 shift:(-10,55) bar:Feb color:yellow from:0 till:4.48 text:4.48 shift:(-10,65) bar:Mar color:yellow from:0 till:4.98 text:4.98 shift:(-10,70) bar:Apr color:yellow from:0 till:5.95 text:5.95 shift:(-10,80) bar:May color:yellow from:0 till:5.66 text:5.66 shift:(-10,80) bar:Jun color:yellow from:0 till:5.81 text:5.81 shift:(-10,80) bar:Jul color:yellow from:0 till:5.65 text:5.65 shift:(-10,80) bar:Aug color:yellow from:0 till:5.41 text:5.41 shift:(-10,75) bar:Sep color:yellow from:0 till:5.38 text:5.38 shift:(-10,75) bar:Oct color:yellow from:0 till:5.71 text:5.71 shift:(-10,75) bar:Nov color:yellow from:0 till:4.54 text:4.54 shift:(-10,65) bar:Dec color:yellow from:0 till:3.80 text:3.80 shift:(-10,55)
Source: NREL[6]
| Year | Total (MW) | Installed (MW) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0.6 | ||
| 2010 | 0.9 | 0.3 | |
| 2011 | 4.1 | 3.2 | |
| 2012 | 4.6 | 0.5 | |
| 2013 | 8.0 | 3.5 | |
| 2014 | 12 | 4 | |
| 2015 | 15 | 3 | |
| 2016 | 115 | 100 | |
| 2017 | 405 | 390 | |
| 2018 | 555 | 150 | |
| 2019 | 1,158.7 | 603.7 | |
| 2020 | 1,781.6 | 622.9 | |
| 2021 | 1,923.8 | 142.2 | |
| 2022 | 2,314 | 390.2 |