COPE -- South Carolina Electric & Gas announced Monday it will invest $69 million in its Cope Generating Station to reduce emissions from the coal-fired unit.

The investment will include the addition of catalytic reduction equipment. It will be installed in 2008 to reduce nitrogen oxides.

Site preparation and construction began during the summer, and tie-in of the unit is targeted for the fall of 2008.

"We want to continue to be a good corporate citizen to our neighbors in Orangeburg County and a large part of that responsibility is to be a good environmental steward" said Tim Miller, the plant manager. The project, "is another step in making an environmentally friendly plant even better."

The investment is the latest at the Cope station since commercial operations began 11 years ago.

To preserve the surrounding environs, SCE&G initially spent $80 million on emission and pollution control equipment. The equipment included baghouses that filter 99 percent of the fly ash, dry scrubbers that remove 92 to 98 percent of the sulfur dioxide and low nitrous oxide burners. The scrubbers also eliminate approximately 60 to 90 percent of mercury emissions.

The facility burns about 160 tons of coal per hour when operating at full load and generates 430 megawatts of electricity.

"We are fortunate in Orangeburg County to have a SCANA facility producing clean, safe and reliable power for our citizens and industries at a cost per kilowatt hour that is less than half of the national average," Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson said. SCANA is SCE&G's parent company.

"They are a key component in our ability to attract new industries to our area. The fact that they are able to do all of this and further protect the environment with this new equipment says a great deal about SCANA, their leadership and their commitment as stewards of the environment," he said.

Orangeburg County Council Chairman Harry Wimberly said, "We are pleased that SCE&G has taken on a project that reduces emissions and therefore provides cleaner air for the citizens of Orangeburg County."

The plant, which sits on a 3,200-acre tract, was designed so that only half an acre of the 1,700 acres of wetlands would be disturbed. Nearly 400 acres of wetlands along the South Fork Edisto River were included in a conservation easement to the Congaree Land Trust as a hardwood and cypress preserve.

Central South Carolina Alliance Chairman George Bullwinkel Jr. said, "Once again, SCANA Corporation has stepped up to the plate and shown environmental leadership."

The $411 million plant employs about 72. At full power, the plant can generate power for an average of 385,000 homes. In addition to coal, the plant also burns natural gas. The Cope plant is the county's largest taxpayer.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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