South Carolina

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To get to zero by 2050, South Carolina must cut climate pollution by 3.0 million metric tons of C02 equivalent a year.

Emissions in South Carolina

Million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e) emissions

We can do it. Here's how.

CO2 Equivalent Emissions in South Carolina by Source
🏭 Other: 22%🔌 Power: 33%🚗 Transport: 40%🏠 Buildings: 5%

    🏠 Buildings

    5% of emissions in South Carolina comes from buildings.

    🏭 Other: 22%🔌 Power: 33%🚗 Transport: 40%🏠 Buildings: 5%

    Mostly from different types of heating.

    Gas furnace, gas water heater, gas stove

    80% of the pollution of your typical home comes from heating your space, water, and food.

    To stop this pollution, we need to replace our furnaces with electric heat pumps, electrify our water heaters, and cook with induction and electricity instead of gas.

    Electric heat pump, electric water heater, induction stove

    There are 2.3 million buildings in South Carolina and 66% of building systems are already electrified.

    We need to electrify the remaining 779,000 buildings in South Carolina. That's around 28,000 per year.

    Percent of Building Systems electrifiedA chart showing the share of Building Systems that have already been electrified and still based in fossil fuel.66.13% have been electrified, and the remaining 33.87% are fossil fuel based.Building Systems ElectrifiedNot yet

    That will solve 5% of the problem.

    🏭 Other: 22%🔌 Power: 33%🚗 Transport: 40%🏠 Buildings: 5%

    🚗 Getting Around

    40% of emissions in South Carolina comes from cars, trucks, and planes.

    🏭 Other: 22%🔌 Power: 33%🚗 Transport: 40%🏠 Buildings: 5%

    Mostly from our cars.

    To cut this pollution, if you have a car, your next one needs to be an electric vehicle (EV).

    Or try going car-free with public transit, bikes/e-bikes, or walking if it works for you.

    Gas emitting car being converted to electric car

    There are 1.8 million vehicles in South Carolina and 4,000 are already electric (0.2% of the total).

    We need to electrify the remaining 1.8 million vehicles. That's around 63,000 a year.

    Percent of Vehicles electrifiedA chart showing the share of Vehicles that have already been electrified and still based in fossil fuel.0.2% have been electrified, and the remaining 99.8% are fossil fuel based.Vehicles ElectrifiedNot yet

    That will solve another 40% of the problem.

    🏭 Other: 22%🔌 Power: 33%🚗 Transport: 40%🏠 Buildings: 5%

    🔌 Power Generation

    33% of emissions in South Carolina comes from making power.

    🏭 Other: 22%🔌 Power: 33%🚗 Transport: 40%🏠 Buildings: 5%

    Specifically from coal, gas, and oil plants.

    To cut this pollution, we need to replace all dirty power plants with clean ones (mostly wind and solar).

    We need to replace dirty power plants with clean ones (mostly wind and solar)

    In South Carolina we need to close and replace:

    7 coal plants

    Name: Cross County: Berkeley Megawatt Capacity: 2,390 Utility: South Carolina Public Service Authority

    Cross
    Berkeley County
    2,390 MW

    Name: Winyah County: Georgetown Megawatt Capacity: 1,260 Utility: South Carolina Public Service Authority

    Winyah
    Georgetown County
    1,260 MW

    Name: Wateree County: Richland Megawatt Capacity: 772 Utility: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc

    Wateree
    Richland County
    772 MW

    Name: Williams County: Berkeley Megawatt Capacity: 714 Utility: South Carolina Genertg Co, Inc

    Williams
    Berkeley County
    714 MW

    Name: Cope Station County: Orangeburg Megawatt Capacity: 417 Utility: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc

    Cope Station
    Orangeburg County
    417 MW

    Name: WestRock CP, LLC Florence Mill County: Florence Megawatt Capacity: 104 Utility: WestRock-Florence

    WestRock CP, LLC Florence Mill
    Florence County
    104 MW

    Name: KapStone Charleston Kraft, LLC County: Charleston Megawatt Capacity: 99 Utility: WestRock North Charleston

    KapStone Charleston Kraft, LLC
    Charleston County
    99 MW

    19 gas plants

    Name: John S. Rainey Generating Station County: Anderson Megawatt Capacity: 1,632 Utility: South Carolina Public Service Authority

    John S. Rainey Generating Station
    Anderson County
    1,632 MW

    Name: W S Lee County: Anderson Megawatt Capacity: 1,403 Utility: Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC

    W S Lee
    Anderson County
    1,403 MW

    Name: Darlington County County: Darlington Megawatt Capacity: 1,046 Utility: Duke Energy Progress - (NC)

    Darlington County
    Darlington County
    1,046 MW

    Name: Jasper County Generating Facility County: Jasper Megawatt Capacity: 1,002 Utility: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc

    Jasper County Generating Facility
    Jasper County
    1,002 MW

    Name: Broad River Energy Center County: Cherokee Megawatt Capacity: 985 Utility: Broad River Energy LLC

    Broad River Energy Center
    Cherokee County
    985 MW

    Name: Mill Creek Combustion Turbine Station County: Cherokee Megawatt Capacity: 799 Utility: Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC

    Mill Creek Combustion Turbine Station
    Cherokee County
    799 MW

    Name: Urquhart County: Aiken Megawatt Capacity: 759 Utility: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc

    Urquhart
    Aiken County
    759 MW

    Name: Columbia Energy Center (SC) County: Calhoun Megawatt Capacity: 669 Utility: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc

    Columbia Energy Center (SC)
    Calhoun County
    669 MW

    Name: McMeekin County: Lexington Megawatt Capacity: 294 Utility: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc

    McMeekin
    Lexington County
    294 MW

    Name: Hagood County: Charleston Megawatt Capacity: 177 Utility: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc

    Hagood
    Charleston County
    177 MW

    ...and 9 more

    11 oil plants

    Name: Sediver County: York Megawatt Capacity: 523 Utility: Central Electric Power

    Sediver
    York County
    523 MW

    Name: Hilton Head Gas Turbine Site County: Beaufort Megawatt Capacity: 118 Utility: South Carolina Public Service Authority

    Hilton Head Gas Turbine Site
    Beaufort County
    118 MW

    Name: Myrtle Beach Gas Turbine Site County: Horry Megawatt Capacity: 112 Utility: South Carolina Public Service Authority

    Myrtle Beach Gas Turbine Site
    Horry County
    112 MW

    Name: North Road Peak County: Orangeburg Megawatt Capacity: 14 Utility: City of Orangeburg - (SC)

    North Road Peak
    Orangeburg County
    14 MW

    Name: Seneca City of County: Oconee Megawatt Capacity: 10 Utility: City of Seneca - (SC)

    Seneca City of
    Oconee County
    10 MW

    Name: City West Diesel Plant County: Union Megawatt Capacity: 7 Utility: Lockhart Power Co

    City West Diesel Plant
    Union County
    7 MW

    Name: Webb Forging County: Union Megawatt Capacity: 6 Utility: Central Electric Power

    Webb Forging
    Union County
    6 MW

    Name: Pacolet Diesel Generation Facility County: Spartanburg Megawatt Capacity: 5 Utility: Lockhart Power Co

    Pacolet Diesel Generation Facility
    Spartanburg County
    5 MW

    Name: Thermal Kem County: York Megawatt Capacity: 3 Utility: Central Electric Power

    Thermal Kem
    York County
    3 MW

    Name: Valenite County: Oconee Megawatt Capacity: 3 Utility: Central Electric Power

    Valenite
    Oconee County
    3 MW

    Name: Honea Path County: Abbeville Megawatt Capacity: 3 Utility: Central Electric Power

    Honea Path
    Abbeville County
    3 MW

    See a map of dirty power plants in the US

    ...and help those workers find good jobs.

    But wait! Remember how we electrified all cars and buildings?

    Our machines don't pollute now, because they run on electricity!

    But that means we need to make more power for those new electric machines - twice as much power as we make now!

    And all of it needs to be clean power!

    So to cut the climate pollution from our power, cars, and buildings we need to INSTALL 5,000 MWs of wind and 5,000 MWs of solar.

    Since South Carolina already has 309 megawatts of solar power generation and 0 megawatts of wind power generation, that's 161 Megawatts of wind capacity AND 179 Megawatts of solar capacity a year we need to build.

    Percent to Needed ElectrificationA chart showing the share of Solar and Wind capacity that has already been installed and rest to be installed. We are 6% of the way to what we need to be carbon neutral by 2050.Solar & Wind MWs InstalledRemaining to Install

    That will solve another 33% of the problem.

    🏭 Other: 22%🔌 Power: 33%🚗 Transport: 40%🏠 Buildings: 5%

    🏭 Other Emissions

    The last 22% of emissions in South Carolina comes other sources

    🏭 Other: 22%🔌 Power: 33%🚗 Transport: 40%🏠 Buildings: 5%

    This includes industry, landfills, and farming.

    There's no one solution to solve these problems, but there are a lot of great ideas!

    These include:

    • Regenerative agriculture to sequester carbon in soil
    • Composting to reduce landfill methane emissions
    • New techniques for manufacturing CO2 emitting materials, like concrete
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Ready to do your part?

Learn how to electrify your own machines and pass local policy to electrify the rest

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