An Upstate company that’s turning landfill emissions into natural gas could see tax breaks under a new South Carolina law. (Stock photo by Benjamin Rondel/Getty Images)
An Upstate company that’s turning landfill methane emissions into natural gas could see tax breaks under a new law signed by the governor earlier this month.
For more than a decade, Greenville-headquartered Pacolet Milliken has been turning methane from a pair of South Carolina landfills into megawatts for customers of its subsidiary Lockhart Power.
The company’s facility at the Spartanburg County Landfill has been operational since 2011, producing 1.6 megawatts. The facility at the Republic Services Upstate Regional Landfill in Union County has been producing 3.2 megawatts continually since 2015.
As the trash in landfills decomposes, it produces methane gas, a greenhouse gas 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The energy levels produced are small compared to the Palmetto State’s major power plants. For example, the proposed natural gas plant to be built by state-owned Santee Cooper and Dominion Energy is expected to have a capacity of 2,200 megawatts.
But the Union County facility still makes enough to power roughly 1,800 homes, primarily located in Union County, but also in portions of Spartanburg, Cherokee, Chester and York counties.
“The facility not only generates renewable clean energy for customers in Union County and surrounding areas, but it’s also a great economic development tool for attracting industries tailored for green initiatives to our area,” Bryan Stone, president of Lockhart Power, said in a 2015 statement.
The gas from the Spartanburg County facility is transported via pipeline to textile giant Milliken & Co.’s plant in Inman, which makes chemicals for textiles.
Pacolet Milliken is a private investment firm with business entities focused on energy and real estate. The company spun off in December 2007 from Spartanburg-based Milliken & Co.
Now, the state is offering income tax credits to companies that convert landfill gases into “renewable natural gas.”
The state caps the value of the tax credits at 25% of money spent on equipment and the credits sunset at the end of 2030. Companies may carry forward any unused credits for 15 more years. Utilities also must pass any savings on to power customers.
It’s unclear whether Pacolet Milliken plans to apply credits to upgrades or expansions of existing facilities or if it plans to build something new. The company did not respond to multiple messages left over the course of a week by the SC Daily Gazette.
In explaining the bill on the House floor earlier this month, House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister called it an “experimental” process.
“If it works, it’ll be a first of its kind and an extraordinary way to recycle gas off a landfill,” the Greenville Republican said.
The purpose of the tax breaks, he said, was to encourage companies to pursue such a venture.
Based on similar projects, state fiscal analysts estimate the tax credits would be worth nearly $4 million annually.
“Landfills are essential infrastructure in any community, but their value to society goes well beyond disposal,” Jamey Amick, area president of Republic Services, said in a 2015 statement when the Union County project was announced.
“Today’s landfill can help to regenerate air, water and land in a local ecosystem, and in many cases it can create a renewable power source from waste decomposition,” Amick added.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
