The Cope Generating Station burns a mix of coal and natural gas to produce 415 megawatts of power for the region. That could change.
Dominion Energy South Carolina released a 15-year integrated resource plan calling for the plant to burn all natural gas beginning in 2030.
“Dominion Energy is on a trajectory to achieve our goal of net-zero carbon dioxide and methane spokesman Matt Long said. “The modified 2020 (integrated resource plan) highlights details about how DESC has already reduced our dependence on coal generation, increased our percentage of solar generation and created a cleaner generation fleet.”
“The plan also presents alternatives that could be pursued in the future to provide customers a path to clean, renewable energy while allowing technologies to mature,” Long said.
When it was originally placed in service in 1996, the Cope plant was designed for operation on coal and natural gas up to its full design capacity of 415 MW.
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The Cope plant has the ability to operate up to its full original design capacity when using natural gas. The station frequently operates up to this load when natural gas supplies are available and economical, Long said.
Converting the plant from its current dual-fuel capability to gas-only will not require any physical modifications, Long said. No staffing changes have been announced based on that plan.
Currently, the Cope plant employs 65 and pays about $9 million annually in taxes to Orangeburg County.
“Since the plan proposes that Cope Station continue operating, DESC would not anticipate a major change in property tax as a result of the plan,” Long said.
The plant, formerly owned by South Carolina Electric and Gas, has a number of environmental controls designed to reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions.
“Natural gas operations emit significantly lower amounts of carbon dioxide per megawatt of energy generated compared to coal,” Long said. “Natural gas combustion also emits less nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury and particulate matter than coal combustion.”
As part of its plan, Dominion will shut down operations at two of its other coal-fired plants by 2028. The plants are its Wateree Station south of Columbia and the Williams Station north of Charleston.
The Cope Station has generated electricity by burning about 160 tons of coal per hour. At full load, the plant can produce enough power in one hour to supply the average electric needs of 430 residential customers for one month.
The facility has consistently ranked in the top 20 plants for efficiency, according to Electric Light & Power magazine.
