South Carolina S 556: Renewable Natural Gas

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 556 Text of Previous Version (May. 13, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 556

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

Amended

May 13, 2026

S. 556

Introduced 
by Senator Verdin 

S. Printed 5/13/26--H.

Read the first time April 30, 2026

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING 
SECTION 12-6-3830 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A TAX CREDIT FOR RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS.

 Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 
1. Article 25, Chapter 6, Title 12 of the S.C. Code 
is amended by adding:

 Section 
12-6-3830. (A) For the purposes of 
this section:

 (1) 
"Commercial use" means a use intended for the purpose of generating a profit.

 (2) 
"Equipment" means equipment and facilities used solely to collect, process, and 
transport landfill gas, on the property of the facility, into renewable natural 
gas. Equipment does not include offsite utility infrastructure, land 
acquisition costs, legal expenses, administrative costs, or unrelated pipeline 
expansion.

 (3) 
"Renewable natural gas" means natural gas derived from landfill gas, also known 
as biomethane, which has been upgraded to a quality similar to fossil natural 
gas and has a methane concentration of ninety percent or greater.

 (B) 
For taxable years beginning after 2025 and ending before Taxable Year 2030, 
there is allowed a credit against the income tax imposed pursuant to Section 
12-6-530 or license fees imposed pursuant to Section 12-20-50, or both, for 
twenty-five percent of the costs incurred by a taxpayer for the purchase and 
installation of equipment used to produce renewable natural gas for commercial 
purposes. Costs incurred by a taxpayer and qualifying for the credit allowed by 
this section must be certified as having been incurred by the State Energy 
Office. The credit may be claimed in the year in which the equipment is placed 
in service and may be claimed for all expenditures incurred for the purchase 
and installation of the equipment, including related engineering, permitting, 
and other necessary services.

 (C) 
A taxpayer may use up to twenty-five percent, or five million dollars, 
whichever is less, of credit for a single taxable year. The tax credit is 
nonrefundable, but unused credits earned prior to the end of 2030 may be 
carried forward for fifteen years from the year in which they were earned. The 
credit under this section may be transferred by the taxpayer to another person who 
is eligible to utilize the tax credit and who will then be subject to the same 
requirements within this section. Regardless of whether the credit is 
transferred, if a regulated utility receives this credit, the regulated utility 
must pass on the credit to the benefit of ratepayers through the utility's next 
rate proceeding, or as otherwise directed by the Public Service Commission.

 (D) 
A taxpayer must submit a request for the credit to the State Energy Office no 
later than January thirty-first for all qualifying equipment placed in service 
in the previous calendar year. Within thirty days of receiving a request for 
the credit, the State Energy Office must notify the taxpayer whether the 
taxpayer qualifies for the credit and, if so, the amount of credit allocated to 
the taxpayer. A taxpayer may claim the maximum amount of the credit for its 
taxable year that contains the December thirty-first of the previous calendar 
year. The Department of Revenue may require any documentation that it deems 
necessary to administer the credit.

 (E) 
If a facility receiving credits pursuant to this section ceases operation, 
fails to maintain commercial production, or removes qualifying equipment from 
service within five years of the date the equipment is placed in service, the 
taxpayer shall repay a prorated portion of the credits previously claimed, as 
determined by the department.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on May 13, 2026 at 10:57 PM