South Carolina goes big on solar—and storage—with Lone Star project
energyRe has now completed work on the $200 million Lone Star project in the Palmetto State, which features one of the largest solar power—and storage systems—in the southeastern U.S.
By Robin Brunet
Calhoun County, located southeast of Columbia, the capital city of South Carolina, is the smallest county in the state, but it is now generating big interest—and a lot of solar power these days.
The 108 MWdc Lone Star Solar project and 198 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Calhoun County is being recognized as one of the largest solar and storage facilities in the southeastern United States, generating enough energy to power 17,000 homes—as well as reducing more than 140,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
The $200 million project builds on energyRe’s track record of investment and clean energy development in the Palmetto State, and was facilitated by the energy company’s deep industry knowledge, financial acumen, and expertise in securing financing solutions for a pipeline of renewable energy projects.
“The Lone Star solar project has been in development for several years, aligning with our strategic focus on utility-scale renewable energy assets across the U.S. South,” says Greg White, Head of Construction at energyRe. “It reflects long-term planning in collaboration with regional stakeholders, designed to meet both state clean energy targets and rising customer demand for carbon-free electricity.”
As with any renewable energy project, Lone Star underwent a long gestation period. “It required nearly five years of development activities before becoming a construction reality,” White says. “An additional two years was required to work through engineering, procurement and construction for the completion of the plant.”
Fortunately, South Carolina is widely regarded as an ideal place for utility-scale solar development in general. The state offers favorable solar irradiance and has also demonstrated growing support for renewables through programs like the South Carolina Energy Freedom Act (Act 62), which improves access to solar and streamlines interconnection processes. Additionally, the state’s transmission infrastructure and strong utility partnerships support large-scale integration. South Carolina ranks 22nd in the U.S. for solar power generation, with 2,682 MW of installed solar power, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
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In January 2024, energyRe announced a 10-year power purchase agreement with Dominion Energy South Carolina for Lone Star Solar. Syensqo, formerly part of the Solvay Group, has agreed to purchase 100 percent of the renewable energy certificates (RECs) generated by the Lone Star project; the clean power will help Syensqo reduce carbon emissions from approximately 35 percent of its U.S. electricity purchases and decrease greenhouse gas emissions of its operations by 73,000 metric tons annually.
energyRe has a portfolio of more than 9 GW in development, and Smith notes that energyRe has roots that have been active in the utility scale markets for over a decade. “The relationships built by the company’s leadership facilitated a smooth project execution for Lone Star.”
energyRe has more than 700 MW of contracted solar projects in South Carolina and a regional development pipeline of more than 7 GW. “Having completed prior solar projects in the state, energyRe brought valuable local knowledge and established relationships that eased the permitting and community engagement process for Lone Star,” Smith says. “Familiarity with state agencies, utility requirements, and environmental compliance frameworks helped accelerate development timelines.”
April 2024 marked a significant step forward for the project: that was when energyRe announced it had secured $155 million in financing and an $85 million tax equity commitment for Lone Star and the BESS. The $155 million included construction debt, tax equity bridge facility and letter of credit facility, with Santander acting as the coordinating lead arranger.
The $85 million in tax equity was arranged by Bank of America. “We recognize the Lone Star project as a milestone in energyRe’s growth and a noteworthy development for South Carolina,” said Todd Karas, the bank’s head of renewable energy finance.
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The $200 million Lone Star solar project builds on energyRe’s track record of investment and clean energy development in South Carolina, and was facilitated by the energy company’s deep industry knowledge, financial acumen, and expertise in securing financing solutions for renewable energy projects. | |
White notes that planning is always a foundational element of how energyRe approaches project execution, “but certainly the scale of Lone Star required a more robust planning strategy. One of the biggest challenges of the project was not the size, but rather the complexity of integrating the largest Battery Energy Storage System in the region, which demanded another level of strategic planning and coordination.”
BESS systems enhance grid reliability and enable energy shifting, i.e. storing solar energy for use during peak demand. This aligns with energyRe’s business model of delivering dispatchable, flexible energy solutions. Storage improves project economics and supports resilience in increasingly dynamic energy markets. The incorporation of a BESS on the Lone Star project was an ideal scenario for energyRe because the surrounding service region has demand loads that fall outside of standard sunlight hours. BESS will enable Lone Star to serve power needs well beyond those times.
As always, energyRe employed a robust approval process for vetting and selecting vendor partners, says Smith. “Lone Star was a unique solar PV + BESS project that required calculated selection of the major components, to ensure optimal functionality across the design life,” White says. “The design criteria called for using Nextracker’s single axis tracker racking, SMA inverters and a dc-coupled BESS system, with cells provided by EVE.”
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The 108 MW Lone Star Solar project and 198 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Calhoun County is being recognized as one of the largest solar and storage facilities in the southeastern United States, generating enough energy to power 17,000 homes. | |
Responsible community engagement is at the heart of every energy-Re project, and for Lone Star there was substantial coordination through both the development and construction phases, with applicable federal, state and local officials, to ensure expectations were established and execution was guided by the approved planning. After a calculated sourcing effort, energyRe chose to contract with Blue Ridge Power, a proven regional industry leader, to carry out the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the facility.
Working to the project’s advantage was the actual building site: it was largely flat low country land. However, it still required civil work including grading, access road construction, drainage installation, and vegetation management to meet environmental standards. “It was a great site location for a large project like Lone Star,” White says, adding that, the execution of a project of Lone Star’s scale was best approached by segmenting the site into phases for construction.
“This method of construction allowed for systematic deployment of foundations, racking, and modules, while enabling parallel progress on interconnection and the BESS installation. Modular build zones helped manage crews, deliveries, and inspections more effectively.”
The design for Lone Star incorporated adjacent land to support the construction process, which included areas for storage, parking and general traffic flow. The availability of this land for staging greatly facilitated equipment storage and panel laydown. Temporary construction zones were used for assembling racking systems, pre-wiring arrays, and housing mobile offices and repair stations, which in turn kept congestion at a minimum and streamlined workflow.
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The alignment between contractors, suppliers, and internal teams was crucial, and clear communication, real-time data sharing, and shared accountability enabled the team to navigate challenges and deliver Lone Star Solar on schedule, with its operation date of December 2024. | |
energyRe and Blue Ridge Power accounted for weather-related impacts during the planning and scheduling of Lone Star’s construction; South Carolina’s summer heat, occasional heavy rains, and storm season required adaptive scheduling. “Work was paused during adverse conditions, and critical path activities were planned for milder seasons,” White explains. “Contractors used weather forecasting tools and protective storage to minimize disruption. Thankfully, there were no major incidents that had a discernable impact on the execution timeline.”
Throughout the planning and construction process, energyRe and BlueRidge Power ensured that clear and constant lines of communication were maintained.
“It’s the key to any successful project, and as scale and complexity increase, the importance of effective and efficient communication is amplified,” Smith says.
“Working as a team across all stakeholders was paramount, and the energyRe construction crew took this obligation as the primary charge, to bring together all parties to collaborate on a safe and quality project completion.
“Alignment between contractors, suppliers, and internal teams was crucial, and clear communication, real-time data sharing, and shared accountability enabled the team to navigate challenges and deliver on schedule.”
The single biggest challenge of Lone Star was the complexity associated with safely integrating a large DC-coupled BESS into the facility.
“Adding BESS to a solar project is inherently challenging, but the DC-coupled element of Lone Star’s design amplified the complexity,” Smith says. “To safely integrate the BESS, the energyRe teams spent countless hours planning, coordinating, testing and validating that plans were followed, changes were managed, quality was confirmed, and operability was authenticated, in addition to managing all unforeseen risks.”
Thanks to following a clear critical path supported by strong project management and early procurement strategies to minimize risk from supply delays, the Lone Star Solar project met its intended initial operation date of December 2024. It generated 49.9 GWh of power between February and May of 2025, and it has been estimated that over the life of the project it will also contribute more than $10 million in local property taxes.
Smith concludes, “Success on a major solar project hinges on early stakeholder engagement, disciplined planning, resilient supply chains, robust QA/QC protocols, and a flexible construction strategy that accounts for foreseeable elements of risk.
“Lone Star was able to navigate the execution to accommodate the necessary completion dates, and we were grateful to work with partners who shared our commitment to safety, sustainability, innovation, and quality.”
Q4 2025
