WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Former Navy base secures $45M wind turbine development grant
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By Ian Silver bio | email | Twitter
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - South Carolina's industrial sector was bolstered yet again Monday afternoon when the Department of Energy awarded a $45 million grant to research and develop ocean-based wind turbines at the former Naval base.
The Clemson Restoration Institute was notified Monday that the Naval base would be the first ever testing facility for the renewable energy source, putting South Carolina and Charleston on the "cutting edge of research and development of renewable energy," said a source.
Rep. Jim Clyburn praised the decision as one that would position South Carolina at the forefront of the renewable energy industry. "I was pleased to give my full support for Clemson's application," Congressman Clyburn said in a release.
North Charleston mayor Kieth Summey praised the efforts of the Clemson team that worked to procure the grant. "This grant solidifies CURI's new home on the former Naval Base. The City of North Charleston looks forward to the development of the campus and its creation of sustainable industries for the benefit of the Lowcountry and the State of South Carolina," he said.
"This announcement, on the heels of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner facility groundbreaking in North Charleston last week, is another game-changer for our state and for the Lowcountry. We will set the standard and become the epicenter of our country's development of wind turbine technology. This award is a significant step in our efforts to position South Carolina as a national leader in renewable energy," he said.
The new lab will be located in a vacant 82,000-square-foot building on the former Naval base, behind the building where conservation engineers are restoring the Hunley, a Confederate submarine.
In fact, research and development within the Hunley facility led to the Department of Energy decision. Researchers there are developing non-corrosive metals in saltwater conditions. According to sources close to the decision, the Hunley research was a deciding factor for the Department of Energy.
"The winds in South Carolina have been changing," State Senator Larry Grooms said. "We don't want to participate in the recession. South Carolina will become the epicenter for wind turbine technology. This is big. As big as Boeing was, this could actually be bigger in bringing in up to 20,000 jobs."
The new lab will create at least 600 jobs immediately, but has the potential to create as many as 10,000 to 20,000 jobs if the North Charleston facility can procure a long-term contract to develop and build the turbines.
"It's gigantic because we always knew if we could get the test cell center in place, the nation's only test cell center for wind turbines for offshore use, then we had a great chance of getting the assembly plant," State Senator Glenn McConnell said.
Clemson University partnered with the SC Energy Office, Savannah River National Laboratory, Fluor Corp., Renk Labecco and SCANA on the testing facility.
The $45 million grant from the Department of Energy is coming from federal stimulus funds. It's being matched with $53 million in state funds from various agencies including the Department of Commerce and the South Carolina Public Railways.
Sources say this deal may prove to be bigger than the recent Boeing announcement to build a second 787 Dreamliner facility in North Charleston.
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