DARLINGTON COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – Darlington County Council discussed a project that would mean more than one dozen solar projects around the county at its meeting on Monday.
 
Darlington County Council validated its contract with a solar company on 17 solar projects that would be built across the county.
 
Darlington County Executive Director of Economic Development, Frank Willis, said Darlington County Council agreed on how the contract for the solar projects were worded, as well as, the terms of the contract.
 
“All the county did tonight was ratify the agreement,” Willis said. “We’ve been negotiating this agreement with one solar company for a year, or better, now.”
 
Darlington County has discussed solar farms in the county for years.
 
News13 was there when Darlington County Council unanimously voted to hold over a vote on the county’s Renewable Energy Ordinance.
 
Two months later, in Mar. 2017, the county voted for solar farms to be 50 ft. away from adjoining property lines, and 200 ft. away from the nearest residence. 
 
Willis said the solar farms would bring money to Darlington County. 
 
“It means a significant increase in property taxes for the county,” he said. “Over the 30 year life of the project, the first 10 years, the county will get $1 million dollars a year,” he explained. “From year 11 through 30, they will get $875,000 a year.”
 
Willis said the county would benefit greatly from the solar farms.
 
“The property owners, now, are probably paying $200, $300, $400 an acre,” he said after the meeting. “It’s going to increase exponentially to almost $5,000 an acre so the county is a beneficiary of higher property taxes.”
 
He said over the next 30 years, the solar projects will generate up to $28 million for Darlington County.
 
“There’s really no added infrastructure cost required by this, so it’s a net win for the county,” said Willis.
 
The solar company will invest more than $300 million in the county.
 
Willis said, although the projects would bring money to the county, the solar farms would not bring many jobs.
 
“Solar farms typically don’t create many jobs,” he said. “There will $350 million worth of solar farms which will create a bit of temporary construction workers, maybe some full time, but once they’re built, they’re [the jobs are] gone.”
 
Willis said he does not know when the solar projects would be built.