Myrtle Beach, SC
Solar for Farms in Myrtle Beach, SC
What Horry County agriculture uses power for, which utility rules apply, and when farm solar pays its way.
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Horry County agriculture near Myrtle Beach
| Measure (2022) | Horry County | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 629 | Down 18% since 2017 |
| Land in farms | 151,691 acres | Average farm 241 acres |
| Market value of products sold | $105.2 million | 82% crops, 18% livestock and poultry |
| Tobacco | $11.9 million | Ranked 1st of 12 SC counties producing it |
| Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, sod | $25.1 million | 3rd in South Carolina |
| Hogs and pigs | $9.0 million | 3rd in South Carolina |
| Poultry and eggs | $7.9 million | — |
| Top crops by acreage | Soybeans 36,815; corn 17,713; cotton 8,941; wheat 5,355 | Acres |
| Irrigated land | 5,328 acres | 4% of land in farms |
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture county profile, Horry County, retrieved 5 October 2026.
Which utility serves a farm near Myrtle Beach
Santee Cooper’s retail schedules are available in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties, and its residential schedule RG-25 applies to “private residences, single-family dwelling units, and farms,” each separately metered.
A Santee Cooper farm account therefore pays the same $20.00 customer charge, $8.00/kW peak-hour demand charge and 7.92¢ base energy as a home, and connects solar under DG-25: hourly netting, 4.15¢/kWh for exports, a $10 monthly rider charge, and a cap of the lesser of 20 kW or the estimated maximum monthly demand for residential-rate accounts.
Other parts of Horry County are served by Horry Electric Cooperative, a member-owned co-op in Conway. Its solar rules are its own and we have not verified the current ones, so ask the co-op directly. The state net metering page compares utilities.
Farm electricity uses that suit solar in Horry County
Tobacco curing barns run fans and controls through the curing season, which falls in the warm months.
Hog and poultry houses run ventilation fans and lighting every day, and on hot days the fan load is heaviest when Santee Cooper’s 3–6 p.m. demand window applies. Greenhouses and nurseries use fans, pumps and controls during the day.
Irrigation on 5,328 acres is a seasonal load; whether a pump is electric or diesel decides whether solar helps at all.
Grain drying and storage after the corn and soybean harvest add autumn load. The common thread: solar earns most where the farm uses the power in the hour it is produced, because surplus earns only the export credit under DG-25.
Ground-mount, rooftop and battery options on an Horry County farm
Barns and poultry houses have long roofs, but many are older, lightly framed or metal-clad, and the coastal wind loads that make the City of Myrtle Beach demand a structural analysis apply in the county too.
A ground mount on unused land avoids the roof question and can be oriented west to help with afternoon demand, at the cost of land, fencing and trenching. Ground mount vs roof mount.
A battery’s case on a farm is the same as on a Santee Cooper home, only larger: shave the peak-hour demand charge and keep ventilation running during outages, which for livestock houses is a welfare issue, not a convenience. Battery storage in Myrtle Beach.
Farm solar incentives and programs near Myrtle Beach
For a farm account on Santee Cooper’s RG schedule, the Solar Home rebate rules are worth reading: the rebate requires service on RG or REV, an owned system, a Trade Ally installer, and pays $0.95 per AC watt up to 6 kW, with a 30 November 2026 deadline.
Confirm with Santee Cooper that your farm meter qualifies before counting on it.
South Carolina’s 25% solar credit applies to owned systems for taxpayers, and the business Clean Energy Credit (Form TC-54) may suit a farm operating as a business; check with a tax adviser.
The USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program has funded farm solar in the past; we did not verify its current funding or deadlines, so contact USDA Rural Development’s South Carolina office before planning around it.
Federally, the residential §25D credit has ended and the business §48E credit has construction deadlines. Full rules: Myrtle Beach solar incentives and solar for farms in South Carolina.
Land, maintenance and ROI for an Horry County farm system
Land used for a ground mount is land out of crops or pasture; account for that rent. Maintenance is mostly vegetation control, keeping dust and feed residue off panels near livestock houses.
A credible ROI separates energy savings, demand savings, exports at the low credit and any incentive, and uses twelve months of the farm meter’s interval data.
We do not publish farm system prices; the fixed fees and example arithmetic on Myrtle Beach solar cost apply to a Santee Cooper farm account on RG-25. Larger operations should also read commercial solar in Myrtle Beach.
Questions to ask before a farm solar project near Myrtle Beach
Every number in the proposal depends on it.
The barn, the pump and the house may be separate accounts with different loads.
Surplus earns only the export credit.
Ask for a structural analysis, as the City requires inside its limits.
Downtime at the wrong moment costs more than the electricity.
Farm, business and residential rules differ.
Back to solar in Myrtle Beach.
Questions
Is there much farming near Myrtle Beach?
Does Santee Cooper bill farms on its residential rate?
Can an Horry County farm get the Santee Cooper solar rebate?
My farm is on Horry Electric Cooperative. Do the same rules apply?
Which farm loads suit solar best in Horry County?
Is the USDA REAP grant available for farm solar in 2026?
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