SC Offshore Wind Collaborative

Rising energy prices, growing public concern over energy security, climate change, public health, sustainable local economic development, and the desire to preserve the environment are driving the increased demand in renewable energy and sustainable management of water resources throughout the world.

A recently released by the US DOE NREL shows that 20% electrical production by wind power in the United States is achievable with 50 GW coming from offshore wind power along the NE and SE Coasts representing a $150Bn market.

To promote new deployments like offshore, new technologies and rapid transfer of this technology into the market is needed. New suppliers must be incubated to provide the components needed to build the next generation of machines. Ancillary services including voltage control, loss compensation, power dispatch, system protection and energy storage will need to be integrated into the next generation of wind turbine technology.

The SC Wind Collaborative is dedicated to accelerating South Carolina's entry into the coastal and off-shore wind power market, establishing it as a leader in the design, construction, and operation of wind farms on the eastern seaboard through education and public outreach, research, and economic development.

The US Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated that South Carolina possesses between 1000 to 5000 MW of wind power that can be developed using existing technology with much of this resource lying along its coast, near-shore and offshore.

Send comments to: ENERGY-L@clemson.edu