The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce sent the below letter to members of the state Senate today in support for S.536 which would advance the use of solar energy in the state. A vote on this bill might come as early as today in the full Senate. If you would like to send your support for this bill, go to this link and click on all Senate Members.
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April 2, 2014
Re: S.536, Solar Energy
Dear Senator,
The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce supports S.536 (as amended) dealing with solar energy in the state. We have long supported the advancement of renewable energy in South Carolina to enable small businesses to address their personal future energy costs and to reduce our state utilities’ dependence on coal power plants. The latter is closely associated with contributing to climate change that is driving future sea level rise which will threaten our coastal small business tourism economy. We also believe that a healthy solar energy market will be good for our state’s small business economy by expanding that industry.
Senate Bill 536 as amended will move our state along a path of renewable energy particularly by increasing utilization of solar energy. We believe, contrary to the concerns of some out-of-state trade associations representing the nation’s largest rooftop solar companies, that the bill will foster competition for the rooftop solar business that will be beneficial to consumers. Our private utility companies should be allowed to compete fairly with other private companies for this customer demand.
We are confident that the requirement of the Public Service Commission’s role in the implementation of the provisions of this bill will afford our organization and other’s the opportunity to insure a level playing field for small businesses to effectively compete for solar rooftop business.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Frank Knapp Jr.
President & CEO
South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce