Wedding & Event Venue Near Chesterfield, SC.

Google has partnered with US solar energy company Sol Systems to help secure solar power for its campuses in North and South Carolina.

The two companies this week announced a “unique renewable energy procurement and investment strategy” that they said enables the development of new solar energy projects while supporting the local communities where the projects are built.

Sol said it and Google have structured an 'integrated clean energy investment and procurement strategy' for solar projects being developed by Pine Gate Renewables in North and South Carolina that will enable 225MW of new solar energy projects and 18MW of battery storage resources.

The new projects will reportedly help the search and cloud giant meet its 24/7 carbon-free energy goal and bring more renewable power to a region with a relatively fossil-fuel heavy energy mix.

"We are honored to be working with Google, a pioneer in renewable energy procurement and community investment," said Sol Systems' CEO Yuri Horwitz. "As they have in the past, they continue to provide leadership and innovation for our industry. We look forward to building on this work in the future."

Alongside this investment, Google and Sol Systems said they will deploy capital into regional community organizations serving under-resourced and minority communities.

“The investment will focus on reducing energy burden by enabling critical home pre-weatherization and safety upgrades to low- and moderate-income (LMI) households,” Sol said.

Four regional organizations will receive initial funding from the partnership: Roanoke Electric Cooperative (NC), Santee Electric Cooperative (SC), Aiken Electric Cooperative (SC), and the Sustainability Institute of South Carolina.

"By 2030, we're aiming for every Google data center to operate on clean energy every hour of every day. As we work toward this goal, we are committed to ensuring that the communities where we operate are actively benefiting from the clean energy transition," said Christopher Scott, energy lead at Google. "We're excited to partner with Sol Systems to not only bring new solar projects online to one of the most difficult grids to decarbonize but also work with them to help lower the energy burden in under-resourced communities through the clean energy transition."

Google currently operates a data center campus in Berkeley County, South Carolina in a town called Moncks Corner; and another Lenoir, in North Carolina’s Caldwell County. Both were first announced in 2007 and have seen multiple expansions in the intervening years.

The company previously signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Duke Energy in 2015 to cover its Lenior facility’s power needs.

Pine Gate Renewables is developing a number of solar projects in the US. Its Bowman Solar project in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, went online in 2020 and offers 101MW across 650 acres, while its Centerfield Solar project offers 98MW from Chesterfield. In North Carolina, Pne Gate currently operates the 108MW Trent River Solar and 81MW Sugar Solar projects, as well as the 6.9MW (plus 10MW storage) Grissom Solar project. Which projects Google will be procuring energy from wasn’t disclosed.

Founded in 2008 and focused on working with foundations alongside corporate clients, Sol has also signed solar deals with Microsoft totaling 500MW and 17 rooftop solar projects Amazon totaling 55MW.

FLORENCE, S.C. – Rosters for the 2023 North-South all-star basketball games were announced Wednesday and six area athletes were selected.

On the boys’ side, Wilson’s Merel Burgess made the S.C. squad along with Mullins’ Johnell Sindab and Carvers Bay’s Tony Bell. On the girls’ side, South Florence’s Jazmyne Lyde was chosen along with Chesterfield’s Raeleigh Rivers and Marlboro County’s Tysonia Lowe.

The games will be played March 18 at Brookland-Cayce High School starting with the girls’ game at 1 p.m. followed by the boys’ game at 3 p.m. Carvers Bay coach Jeff Mezzatesta is serving as an assistant for the boys’ game.

Burgess averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game for the Tigers this past season as they earned the Region 6-4A crown and made the third round of the state playoffs.

Sindab ranked in the top five in the Pee Dee with a 20.5 points-per-game average to go along with 2.5 steals and 6.0 rebounds per contest. He helped the Auctioneers claim the Region 8-2A crown as well.

Bell averaged 9.4 points, 3.2 assists and 4.5 steals per game for the Bears, who were second in Region 5-A and made the second round of the state playoffs.

Lyde was one of the catalysts for the 24-2 Bruins this year as they captured the Region 6-4A title again. She averaged 11.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.2 steals per contest.

Rivers, the Region 5-2A Player of the Year, surpassed 1,000 points for her career this season in helping the Golden Rams finish second in the region and earn a playoff berth. She averaged 15.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game.

Lowe led the Pee Dee with an average of 24.6 points per game while dishing out 2.1 assists per contest as well to help the Bulldogs earn a spot in the second round of the state playoffs.

Rosters for the Carolinas Classic all-star basketball games were also announced Wednesday, but no players from the Pee Dee were selected.

The South Carolina girls’ squad does have one connection, however, as former Timmonsville High and current East Clarendon High coach Perry Stokes will be the head coach for the S.C. team.

Both of those games are scheduled to be played on March 25 in Wilmington, N.C.

FRIDAY MARCH 10

League 2

Crewe v Salford

SATURDAY MARCH 11

League 2

Barrow v SuttonColchester v Stockport Crawley v HarrogateDoncaster v AFC WimbledonGillingham v TranmereGrimsby v RochdaleHartlepool v Northampton Mansfield v Leyton OrientNewport v BradfordStevenage v WalsallSwindon v Carlisle

FA Trophy Quarter-Final

Aldershot v FC HalifaxGateshead v Farsley CelticMaidstone v BarnetYork v Altrincham

National League

Chesterfield v YeovilEastleigh v OldhamNotts County v Dorking Wanderers (5.20pm)Torquay v WealdstoneWoking v Maidenhead Wrexham v Southend

National League South

Braintree v WeymouthCheshunt v TauntonChippenham v Dover Dartford v FarnboroughDulwich v HavantHampton v Chelmsford Hemel Hempstead v Oxford CitySlough v Hungerford St Albans v Eastbourne Tonbridge v Ebbsfleet Welling v ConcordWorthing v Bath City

Isthmian Premier

Aveley v FolkestoneBillericay v Wingate & FinchleyBishop's Stortford v Hastings Bowers v HaringeyCanvey Island v MargateCorinthian Casuals v CarshaltonCray Wanderers v Potters Bar Herne Bay v BognorHornchurch v BrightlingseaKingstonian v HorshamLewes v Enfield Town

Isthmian South East

Beckenham v Littlehampton TownBurgess Hill v CorinthianChatham v Haywards Heath Cray Valley v Ashford Hythe v Chichester Lancing v FavershamRamsgate v East GrinsteadSheppey v VCD Sittingbourne v Three BridgesWhitehawk v Sevenoaks Town

Southern Counties East Premier Division

Deal v RusthallHollands & Blair v GlebeKennington v Erith TownPhoenix Sports v BearstedStansfeld v Punjab UnitedSutton Athletic v K SportsTunbridge Wells v HolmesdaleWhitstable v Lordswood

Southern Counties East Division 1

Faversham Strike Force v FC ElmsteadForest Hill v Bermondsey TownGreenways v MeridianLarkfield & New Hythe v AFC WhyteleafeRochester v Lewisham SC Thamesmead v Lydd Snodland v CroydonStaplehurst v Tooting Bec

MONDAY MARCH 13

Southern Counties East Premier Division

K Sports v Stansfeld

TUESDAY MARCH 14

League 2

Newport v AFC WimbledonNorthampton v MansfieldStevenage v CreweSutton v Grimsby Walsall v Swindon

National League

Barnet v YeovilBoreham Wood v SouthendFC Halifax v BromleyMaidenhead v AldershotNotts County v EastleighSolihull Moors v Scunthorpe Wealdstone v ChesterfieldYork v Altrincham

National League South

Bath v Dulwich Chippenham v Taunton Concord v Chelmsford Farnborough v Havant Hampton v CheshuntHemel Hempstead v Braintree Weymouth v Hungerford

Isthmian Premier

Bognor v MargateHerne Bay v HaringeyLewes v Brightlingsea Potters Bar v HorshamWingate & Finchley v Hornchurch

Isthmian South East

Corinthian v Three BridgesWhitehawk v Chatham

Kent Senior Cup Quarter-Final

Ebbsfleet v WellingRamsgate v Tonbridge

Southern Counties East Premier Division

Bearsted v Erith TownFisher v DealGlebe v RusthallKennington v Punjab UnitedSutton Athletic v Holmesdale

WEDNESDAY MARCH 15

Southern Counties East Premier Division

Canterbury v Phoenix Sports

Southern Counties East Division 1

Lewisham v LarkfieldTooting Bec v AFC Whyteleafe

Miklos Fridrich, a high school senior is Chesterfield County, has applied to 13 colleges. That might sound like a lot, but he knows classmates who have applied to 20.

The more colleges he applies to, he figures, the better chance he'll have of being accepted to a quality school.

It's become more difficult to get into the state's best colleges, making it harder for high school students to know where they will be accepted and where they'll be rejected.

"The target is moving every year," said Jim Jump, a counselor at St. Christopher's School.

For the past three years, the University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary and Virginia Tech have been flooded with thousands more applications, causing their admission rates to go down.

Colleges are reviewing this year's batch of applications, and most students will hear back by April 1.

At UVa, the number of applications received has almost doubled in 10 years. The university received 57,000 applications this year - an all-time high.

VCU, VUU among 13 Va. colleges who win lab school grants

If UVa extends the same number of offers as last year, it will have an admission rate of 17%. Ten years ago, UVa accepted almost 30% of applicants.

No college in the state has transformed like Virginia Tech. A decade ago, it received 21,000 applications and accepted 73% of them.

This year, it took in 47,000 applications and it had an acceptance rate of 57% last year.

At William & Mary, applications rose from 14,000 to 18,000 in two years. The school anticipates accepting between 30 and 33% of applicants, said Suzanne Clavet, a spokesperson for the university.

While William & Mary's acceptance rate is down compared with recent years, it's about equal to where it was a decade ago, the result of growth in enrollment and fewer students accepting the college's offer.

The three colleges charge in-state students between $27,000 and $37,000 a year for tuition, fees, room and board. While UVa and William & Mary are the two most expensive public schools in the state, they are significantly cheaper than the nation's elite private schools.

Private colleges in Virginia such as Washington and Lee University and the University of Richmond have low acceptance rates, too.

Brand recognition matters

There are a number of reasons why applications are up. These schools stopped requiring standardized test scores, encouraging students who wouldn't normally apply for an elite school to throw their hats in the ring.

Virginia Tech has worked to simplify its application process by streamlining how student send transcripts. It now allows students to apply using the Common App.

Another factor is the brand recognition these colleges carry.

"A lot of it is still brand," said Tod Massa, policy analytics director at the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. "These are the top-brand schools. Everyone knows who they are."

As admission rates go down, the academic standards necessary for acceptance goes up, Jump said. It's not a dramatic increase, but the bar seems to be raised every year.

Such constantly changing requirements make it harder for counselors like Jump and students like Fridrich to predict where they'll be accepted. Rejection can mess with a kid's confidence, Fridrich said.

William & Mary will remain test-optional for applicants

Increased interest isn't limited to Virginia's top colleges. What Jump calls the "ESPN schools" — large Southern public universities such as the University of Georgia, the University of South Carolina and the University of Tennessee — have seen their application numbers skyrocket.

Those schools have increasingly recruited Virginia students, who are relatively wealthier than graduates of other states and bring more revenue than in-state students. High school grads in Virginia are increasingly more likely to choose an ESPN school, according to state data.

Colleges continue recruiting and searching for more applicants even when they don't need more applicants, Jump said. A college's U.S. News & World Report ranking and its bond rating are affected by the number of applications they receive and their admission rates.

These three schools "aspire to be nationally known universities," Jump added. "Part of the way you do that is by being selective."

Some argue that elite colleges should increase their capacity to keep up with demand. Virginia, William & Mary and Virginia Tech have grown in recent years. But growth requires years of planning and additional resources.

Colleges don't target particular admission rates

Virginia, William & Mary and Virginia Tech don't aspire to particular admission rates, spokespeople for the colleges said. They focus on attracting the most talented students they can, and they consider the percentage of applicants who accepted the school's offer last year, known as its "yield."

Colleges also must strike the right number of in-state and out-of-state students, and they consider the number of open seats in each department or major.

"It is increasingly tough to predict from year to year," said Brian Coy, a spokesperson for UVa.

While certain colleges can be difficult to gain admission, getting into a four-year college in Virginia isn't hard.

"We have a place for every Virginia student that wants to go to college in Virginia," Massa said.

Virginia residents are more educated than ever before

At most colleges in Virginia, admission rates are going up. James Madison University accepted 86% of applicants in 2021, according to the most recent year available. Virginia Commonwealth University accepted 92%.

Altogether, the number of college students in the state has declined in the past decade as costs have continued to increase. This has created a divergence in Virginia colleges, in which some are booming, and others are fighting over a shrinking pool of applicants.

Higher admission rates do not indicate that colleges are accepting substandard students, Massa said. Fewer students are dropping out from Virginia colleges, and a higher percentage are graduating. The way Massa sees it, colleges are working harder to find students and working harder to keep them. That's a good thing.

"That level of engagement serves students well," Massa said.

VCU doesn't shy away from its admission rate. It embraces its goal of serving low-income and first-generation students. Its board of visitors has discussed modeling itself off Arizona State University, which accepts every student who meets a certain academic threshold.

Bill to stop colleges from holding transcripts hostage voted down again

Admission to an elite college isn't a prerequisite for earning a high-paying job, either. According to earnings data, a student's major is a far greater determinant of income level than a student's college.

Jump tells his students their college experience is more important than the reputation of their college.

"There are lots and lots of good places," he said. "It's a mistake to set your heart on 'I have to go here or I'll be a failure.' "

Of the 13 schools to which Fridrich applied, he's gained acceptance to three and is waiting to hear from the rest. He knows the college he chooses won't define who he is, but he still worries about which schools will accept him.

"It's not a logical thing," Fridrich said.

The Aiken City Council could take three steps to move forward on the city’s newest redevelopment plans Monday evening.

The city council is expected to consider approving a resolution authorizing an agreement with the Aiken Corporation for services related to the project at a meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday in the city council chambers on the third floor of the Municipal Building located at 111 Chesterfield St. S.W.

The announced plans for the downtown redevelopment project include the demolition of the Warneke Cleaners building and the Holley House, also known as the Hotel Aiken annex, and construction of a T-shaped workforce development center for the Savannah River National Laboratory on the sites.

The buildings fronting Richland Avenue, including the C.C. Johnson Drug Store building, would be rehabilitated to serve as retail space. The plan calls for Warneke Cleaners to move into one of the new retail spaces.

Plans also call for the development of a surface parking lot across from St. John’s United Methodist Church and the possible construction of a parking structure at the Municipal Building.

The agreement calls for the Aiken Corporation to assist the city with engagement and communication with the public and pre-development work on the workforce development center and rehabilitations at a cost not to exceed $250,000.

Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said the city and Aiken Corporation are also using McMillan Pazden Smith for ongoing due diligence on the project.

The council is also expected to consider a resolution authorizing an agreement with Aiken County to facilitate the receipt of $26.2 million in funds from the state’s settlement with the federal government over plutonium stored at the Savannah River Site.

An ordinance amending the city’s budget to spend the funds was included on the agenda for the council’s Feb. 11 meeting but was removed at the beginning of the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, the city council is expected to meet as the Aiken Municipal Development Commission at 5 p.m. to consider approving a resolution asking the city council to approve the Municipal Development Commission transferring the properties to be redeveloped as part of the downtown redevelopment as well as the Hotel Aiken and the Beckman Building to the city.

Also on the agenda for Monday’s city council meeting are the second and final readings of ordinances:

— Annexing and zoning a property located at the intersection of East Pine Log Road and Levels Church Road to allow for the construction of a Parker’s Kitchen; and

— Annexing and zoning single family homes at 19 Russellwood Court, 1107 Williams Drive and 1892 Huckleberry Lane.

On the agenda for first reading are ordinances:

— Approving changes to the boundaries of the city council districts to account for population changes found by the 2020 Census; and

— Authorizing an agreement with the Municipal Association of South Carolina relating to local revenue services.

Other resolutions scheduled to be considered at the meeting are:

— Approving the spending recommendations of the Accommodations Tax Committee and an amendment for the Visit Aiken project proposed by the committee;

— Requesting the South Carolina Arts Commission designate a cultural district within the city; and

— Authorizing Bedenbaugh to serve as project manager for the Powderhouse Connector.

Appointments to be considered at the meeting are Lisa Handy (reappointment) to the Equine Committee.

The council is also expected to recognize Don Moody for receiving the 2022 South Carolina Tennis Coach of the Year award and being certified as a master tennis performance specialist.

A worksession is scheduled for 6 p.m. to discuss mural paintings by the Soil and Water District Commission and to continue discussion of the operation of the pool at the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center.