Success Stories for South Carolina
South Carolina Electric Co-op Aids Hydrogen Research
-- Grant, loans from Aiken Electric will help establish advanced laboratory.
If there should ever be a quantum-leap breakthrough in the use of hydrogen as
a fuel for vehicles, Aiken Electric Co-op (SC-014) (Aiken) might have
itself to thank.
The Aiken, South Carolina-based co-op, which has supported
hydrogen research initiatives since 2004 with grants and loans, participated
in the February 13, 2006, opening of the Center for Hydrogen Research. The $9.2
million center is designed to accommodate scientific exploration of the gas,
the most abundant element in the universe.
"Studies show hydrogen will be a multi-billion dollar
market by 2020," said Aiken CEO Gary Stooksbury. "Our continued involvement
in the Center for Hydrogen Research and associated projects shows the openness
we have to alternative fuels and our commitment to education in this community."
Aiken supported the center with a $219,000 grant last
summer to aid in construction of the Hydrogen Education Outreach Center, which
will be housed in the new laboratory. It will provide professional training
to create regional opportunities for economic development in the hydrogen arena.
The center will also educate students on hydrogen technology and its impact
on our future.
Aiken also provided the county with a $380,000 low-interest
loan in 2004 to fund the laboratory.
Supporting the laboratory helps fulfill Aiken's goals
of seeking ways to improve quality of life and creating local jobs, Stooksbury
added.
"Aiken's investment in the Center for Hydrogen Research
is visionary," said Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "The hydrogen economy of
the future could very well be developed in Aiken."
The 60,000-square foot laboratory is designed to bring
together top scientists, chemists and engineers from Savannah River National
Laboratory, universities and industry, said Clay Sell, Deputy S ecretary, Department
of Energy.
Toyota is among the first industry groups to conduct research
at the hydrogen laboratory. At the opening ceremony, James W. Griffith, vice
president of the Toyota Technical Center, donated a Toyota Prius to the laboratory,
saying that it will be a model for the next generation of fuel cell-powered
vehicles.
"We believe the fuel tank in the car of the future will
be a hydrogen storage system," Griffith said.
Hydrogen research initiatives also received a boost from
the White House, which proposed $289 million in fiscal year 2007 funding. The
request would an 18 percent increase over the $236 million appropriated by Congress
for spending in fiscal 2006.
Compliments of NRECA's "Electric Co-op TODAY", February
24, 2006 edition, Volume 12, Number 8.
March 2006
Answering
the County's Call: Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, SC-037, responded
quickly when local authorities called for help last fall, dispatching a pair
of linemen who used their special training to help remove an injured man from
a treetop. When Lexington County, South Carolina, emergency workers were unable
to lower the man, who had been injured while working with a chainsaw in the
tree's upper reaches, the Lexington-based co-op dispatched Michael Swygert and
Jimmy Grandy, who were working nearby. The linemen used a harness and lanyard,
and the boom of their service vehicle, to bring down the injured man, who was
taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment. The response was "an excellent
example of how important our Touchstone Energy® values are to Mid-Carolina Electric
Cooperative and our employees, and an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment
to the community," said Russ Dantzler, manager of engineering. "We are glad
our relationship with the fire service is one in which they know we can all
work together."
Compliments of NRECA's "Electric Co-op TODAY", February 3, 2006 edition, Volume 12
February 2006
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