Winter 2012 - SCANA Corporation

The first 787
Dreamliner delivered
to All Nippon Airways
from Everett, Wash.,
departs for Japan
Sept. 27, 2011. Boeing
will assemble and
deliver 787s from
its North Charleston
facility as well,
beginning in 2012.
Jim Bryan, manager of
economic development
and local government
in Charleston, was part
of the SCE&G team
that helped Boeing’s
South Carolina facility
achieve its goal of
being a 100 percent
renewable energy site.
In the beginning
To hear Jim Bryan tell the story, it all started with a walk in
the dirt. On Oct. 1, 2010, then-SCE&G President Kevin Marsh,
along with Charles McFadden and Jim Bryan with SCE&G’s
economic development and local government department,
were touring the North Charleston Boeing Dreamliner Final
Assembly site. The Boeing site had already been publicly
announced, and they were discussing infrastructure needs.
While walking around the property, Bryan said Marco
Cavazzoni, Boeing’s vice president and general manager of
final assembly and delivery, made the comment, “Wouldn’t
it be great if this facility could be powered with 100 percent
green energy and a portion of that could come from solar?”
“Customer service is one of our core values, so we
instantly thought that we needed to find a way to make it
happen,” Bryan said. “SCE&G cares about its customers and
its customers achieving success.”
SCE&G’s Bob Long remembers being pulled into the
project at some point after that initial discussion. “My job
was to understand Boeing’s request and determine if we
could provide a solution. I met with Boeing to determine their
business objectives, identified ways SCE&G could assist and
recommended and negotiated a business case for SCE&G
to provide on-site solar generation and supply the ‘green
attributes’ to achieve Boeing’s objective for a 100 percent
renewable energy site,” Long said.
“For this project, renewable energy is a South Carolina
solution, with resources grown and harvested, and energy
created and delivered here in South Carolina,” he said.
The visibility of the project — both the rooftop solar and
the commitment to 100 percent renewable energy — has
created an interest among other companies, who are asking
if it is possible for their business plan.
What does the future hold? Long says many companies are
studying the value “green energy” adds to their brand. And
some are setting minimum “green” targets and goals for their
production and sales sites. As the renewable market matures,
more will likely pursue similar projects, he said.
Some of the hardest working crews on the roof this
summer were actually college students. Richard Wright
with Baker Renewable Energy said students from
schools such as N.C. State, Clemson and Pennsylvania
State were a part of this project. “It was steady; it was
busy. It was great. Everybody enjoyed it, and everybody
worked very hard,” Wright said.
While it was a great experience for the college
students, the weather conditions often made it a
challenge, with many days in which temperatures
reached 100+ degrees. Wright said it was about as hot as
it could be. “We managed by starting early, working late,
working in the evenings. Everybody was accommodating
and obviously observing safe work practices,” he said.
Robinson agreed that safety was the top priority.
“The crews had to adapt, but they had safety at the
forefront of this project. Hydration was very important.
Sunscreen, too. We also created a break area on the top
floor inside the building with industrial-sized fans so the
workers could get out of the sun when they needed to.”
Hurricane season also provided a challenge. “When
Irene came through, SCE&G worked closely with Baker
and Boeing in monitoring the storm and participating in
site storm preparation. The challenge was to maintain
production while developing a plan allowing adequate
time to clear materials from the roof if storm conditions
required,” Robinson said.
Working together, SCE&G, Baker and White Electric
completed the project Oct. 28. SCE&G and Boeing
joined together to mark the milestone achievement with
an official rooftop dedication ceremony.
20 INSIGHTS • WINTER 2012
WINTER 2012 • INSIGHTS 21