By By Andy Tsubasa Field

Copyright postandcourier

COLUMBIA — A Texas renewable energy developer is appealing to state regulators after Sumter County rejected plans for a solar farm earlier this year.

TOCE SC Solar 1, a subsidiary of Austin-based Treaty Oak Clean Energy, applied to the South Carolina Public Service Commission for a certificate that would allow the project to move forward despite the county’s denial. The state agency, which regulates public utilities, has scheduled a December hearing on the project at its Columbia headquarters.

The developer plans to build the facility on a site spanning 1,700 acres about 12 miles northwest of Sumter near Borden and Black River roads. The project would use racks of solar panels to generate electricity from sunlight, with inverters and transformers to convert and transmit the power, along with other equipment to support the site.

In its Aug. 29 application, the company pitched the proposed solar farm as providing clean, renewable power with minimal environmental impact while diversifying the state’s energy supply.

Under the proposal, TOCE Solar would sell power from the solar farm to Santee Cooper, the state-owned utility, and Central Electric Power Cooperative, which represents 20 independent providers across South Carolina.

In its application, the company argued the project would support the two utilities’ plans to replace aging, carbon-dependent plants. It pointed to Santee Cooper’s proposal to retire coal units like the Winyah Generation Station in Georgetown and replace them with cleaner options like solar power.

The company added the project would help meet rising demand from economic growth and data centers, which house powerful computer systems and are in high demand with the rise of artificial intelligence.