Investment | Orangeburg County Development Commission

S.C. Ports has economic impact in Midlands

November 30, 2019

COLUMBIA — South Carolina Ports Authority’s reach goes well beyond the Port of Charleston with 25 percent of its economic impact happening in the Midlands.

S.C. Ports grows as S.C. economic driver

S.C. Ports Authority makes a $15.6 billion annual economic impact in the Midlands and creates 55,000 jobs in the region, according to a new Economic Impact Study from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. Read more…

Downtown pavilion nearing completion; building ‘much more than a farmers market’

November 28, 2019

Orangeburg’s 6,000-square-foot, open-air pavilion is targeted for a mid-January opening. “This building is so much more than a farmers market,” Downtown Orangeburg Revitalization Association Executive Director Candice Roberson said Monday.

“This is going to be used for downtown activities: our St. Patrick’s festival and our Taste of Orangeburg,” she said. Roberson said the facility will also be used for oyster roasts, holiday bazaars and to host small business gatherings.

“We don’t want an empty pavilion downtown. We want an active, vibrant space in our downtown,” Roberson said.

Roberson discussed the pavilion Monday during the quarterly meeting of the One Orangeburg County group.

Swedish parts supplier for Volvo, maybe BMW, cuts ribbon on SC plant

November 19, 2019

ORANGEBURG — A Swedish supplier to Volvo and other automakers has cut the ribbon on its Orangeburg plant, the first site in North America for Gnotec.

The company formally opened the 30,000-square-foot production facility in the Carolina Regional Park, off U.S. Highway 601 near Interstate 26.

The building previously housed Mohawk Industries Inc., a flooring company. It’s expandable to 50,000 square feet.

Gnotec Group annocuned the U.S. expansion in November.

“It is a big step for us to enter here. This has been a really fast journey,” Gnotec Group CEO Jorgen Oldenstedt told The Times and Democrat.

Gnotec plans to invest $5.9 million and create 78 new jobs over the next five years at the Midlands plant. Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College will help train the workforce.

The company plans to use the Orangeburg factory initially for warehousing and, later, manufacturing focused on welding and product assembly. It will rely on robot technology to handle the precision welding tasks.

“By doing this, we are really ensuring the piece coming out is correct,” Gnotec general manager Johan Westerberg said. “That is the main reason for automation. Everything is advanced. The technology that will be utilized is the latest.”

Source

Region’s jobless rates among lowest recorded; unemployment inches up for area counties

November 19, 2019

Local unemployment rates inched up in October but still remained among the lowest recorded. Orangeburg County’s unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in October. That’s the second-lowest rate the county has seen since local records began in 1990.

Its rate was 3.7 percent in September, which was the county’s lowest rate since 1990.

“We have had a very nice run of economic development announcements,” Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson said.

For instance, Orangeburg County just announced its 22nd international company, the Italian company Valagro.

“You have a number of opportunities in the region as well as small business construction services and housing improvements are also better than they have been in years past,” Robinson said.

“You see a lot of labor that has typically been idle that is now moving in the right direction,” he said.

Orangeburg County had South Carolina’s second-highest unemployment rate in October.

Bamberg County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 4.9 percent. It was 4.3 the month before.

The 4.9 percent rate is the third lowest the county has experienced since county-level records began, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Calhoun County’s unemployment rose to 2.8 percent in October from 2.5 percent in September. The county had the 11th highest unemployment rate among the state’s 46 counties.

This is the county’s second-lowest rate ever recorded. Its lowest rate was recorded in September.

The statewide unemployment rate in October was 2.6 percent. In September, the rate was 2.9 percent.

“The news is astounding: More than 58,000 new jobs created in 2019. More than 12,000 people removed from the unemployed ranks during this year,” said Dan Ellzey, executive director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce.

Ellzey says while the news is good for employees, for employers it is split.

“The incredibly low unemployment rate will make it more difficult to find employees,” Ellzey said. “On the other hand, our agency’s announcement of a 34 percent tax rate cut for unemployment insurance will save South Carolina businesses approximately $68 million.”

Ellzey says the department is working to identify and train employees to fill the open positions through flexible shift options.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in October, up from 3.5 percent in September.

Charleston and Lexington counties had South Carolina’s lowest unemployment rates in October at 1.7 percent.

Other area counties’ unemployment rates in October were:

• Allendale – 4.1 percent

• Barnwell – 3.2 percent

• Dorchester – 1.8 percent

Read online article

Largest Solar Farm In South Carolina Begins Operation

October 25, 2019

South Carolina solar projects now produce enough power for more than 94,000 homes

Cubico Sustainable Investments (Cubico), a global investor in renewable energy backed by two of Canada’s largest pension funds, and Cypress Creek Renewables (Cypress Creek), a leading national solar and storage company, are proud to announce the successful energization of Palmetto Plains, South Carolina’s largest solar project in operation.

The Palmetto Plains solar project is in Orangeburg County, where Cubico and Cypress Creek also recently announced financial close and start of construction for Huntley Solar, a 100 MWdc solar project. Together, the Huntley and Palmetto Plains projects will provide $11 million in local tax revenue for Orangeburg County over the expected 40-year operational life of the projects.

Cypress Creek is the developer and engineering, procurement and construction provider for Palmetto Plains, as well as Huntley, and will perform the long-term Operations & Maintenance services for both projects.

With the energization of Palmetto Plains, a 106 MWdc solar project, South Carolina now benefits from more than 880 MWdc of solar in operation , enough power for approximately 94,000 homes. Cypress Creek has developed and successfully added 375MWdc across 22 projects to the grid in South Carolina, making Cypress Creek a leading developer of utility scale solar in the state.

Governor Henry McMaster said, “We are excited to have companies like Cypress Creek and Cubico invest in our state and remain proud of all the steps we have taken to welcome the solar industry to South Carolina. With the recent passing of the Energy Freedom Act, we expect to continue to see the rate payers benefit from low cost, environmentally friendly power.”

Senator John W. Matthews Jr. said, “The Energy Freedom Act creates the opportunity for economic development in rural communities; I’m proud of my hometown of Bowman for attracting these opportunities. It is important to involve local communities in innovative industries like solar energy and I’m excited to work with Cypress Creek and Cubico to do so.”

State Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter said, “Orangeburg County continually attracts innovative industries and being home to the largest operational solar farm in South Carolina shows that we have no plans of slowing down. We’re excited to see more diversity in our local energy production due to the recent passage of the Energy Freedom Act.”

Orangeburg County Council Chair Johnnie Wright Sr. said, “We see solar energy as a win-win for our residents: the projects provide long-term revenue to the county as well as clean energy and substantial investments to our community. We’re grateful that Orangeburg County is becoming the solar capital of South Carolina.”

Gregg Robinson, Executive Director, Orangeburg County Development Commission said, “Solar power offers a unique alternative energy option to Dominion and indirectly our own Department of Public Utilities (DPU). Our industries can be proud of the fact that not only are our energy costs way below the national average; but they can offer their customers a unique and “Green” energy mix to the portfolio of power. Thank you for your investment in Orangeburg County and South Carolina.”

Ricardo Díaz, Cubico’s Head of Americas said, “Palmetto Plains represented an exciting new chapter for us when it became the first asset in our USA solar portfolio to start operations. We are proud to see the project producing power and contributing to the sustainability goals of South Carolina.”

Sarah Slusser, CEO of Cypress Creek Renewables, said, “We are proud to energize South Carolina’s largest solar farm, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Orangeburg County community through our management of Palmetto Plains and the construction of Huntley. These are long-term infrastructure assets that will benefit the community.”

About Cubico
Founded in May 2015, Cubico Sustainable Investments is a major investor in the renewable energy sector. Cubico’s global portfolio in nine countries has an installed gross capacity of approximately 2.8 GW. Cubico is headquartered in London and has offices in Uxbridge (UK), São Paulo (Brazil), Fortaleza (Brazil), Milan (Italy), Stamford (US), Mexico City (Mexico), Madrid (Spain), Lyon (France), Sydney (Australia), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Bogotá (Colombia).

About Cypress Creek Renewables
Cypress Creek believes solar makes the world cleaner and healthier. With over 4 gigawatts of solar developed in more than a dozen states and more than 2.2 GW managed, Cypress Creek is one of the country’s leading solar companies. For more information about Cypress Creek, please visit https://ccrenew.com.

Source: https://ccrenew.com/news/largest-solar-farm-in-south-carolina-begins-operation/

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