State-owned Santee Cooper has announced its plan to get 1% more of its power through biomass. The utility is looking at vendors, mostly in South Carolina, to purchase the electricity from. This would end up supplying enough power for 25,000 homes, on average.

From The Post and Courier:

The plan calls for the utility to purchase 50 megawatts of biomass-derived power. Santee Cooper generates about 5,500 megawatts of power, roughly 15 megawatts of which come from plants that burn landfill fumes.

Though the purchase represents only a fraction of the utility's energy footprint, it would provide enough power to serve 25,000 homes.

Santee Cooper would not say how much the new electricity would cost but noted that energy from renewable sources typically sells for a premium.

This is only the latest effort in Santee Cooper's Green Power Program. The utility's Web site had this to say about its green initiatives:

Santee Cooper launched the Green Power Program in response to increased customer interest in renewable energy and concern for the environment. By taking this initial step to meet and encourage the growing demand for renewable energy, we can help reduce the reliance on limited resources while improving and preserving the environment for future generations.