South Carolina Offshore Wind Programs

Palmetto Wind

Palmetto Wind is South Carolina’s pioneering offshore wind farm initiative off the coast of Georgetown. The collaborative project by Clemson University's Restoration Institute, Santee Cooper, Coastal Carolina University and the South Carolina Energy Office is studying the possibilities of generating wind energy off the coast. The Palmetto Wind project is currently gathering and analyzing data from the following studies:

SC DOE Transmission and Buoys Study

Six buoys and two land-based stations are being used to measure wind speed, direction and frequency at stations up to six miles out into the ocean. One string of buoys begins at Georgetown, near an ongoing wind study at Winyah Bay; the second string begins at Waties Island, by Little River and near another ongoing wind study.

The buoy deployment will be followed by Santee Cooper’s installation of an offshore platform in about six months, near one of the buoy paths.

Buoy data will help determine the best location for the platform, which will measure upper-level winds more similar to those a wind turbine would encounter. The offshore wind platform is expected to gather data for at least a year. 

SC Sodar Study

A wind power assessment and development project utilizing new technology including light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and sonic detection and ranging (SODAR) to obtain wind speed data from 10 to 200 meters. Collected data will assist in the development of a business strategy to accelerate 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.

Project partners include Clemson University, Santee Cooper, Savannah River National Laboratory, CMMC LLC, Detyen's Shipyard Inc., Coastal Carolina University, the Center for Hydrogen Research, SecondWind and the US Coast Guard. 

SC Wind for Schools

The project investigated the feasibility of using wind power to generate commercially viable electricity along Waties Island, an undeveloped Horry County, South Carolina barrier island.

Three wind gauges or anemometers were installed at 30, 40 and 50 meter increments on a mobile 160-foot tower on Waties Island. The tower is equipped with wind direction, barometric, temperature and solar sensors. Students from Clemson University and Coastal Carolina University monitored the data collected from the Waties Island Anemometer Station. For more information please visit the Wind Powering America Wind for Schools project at http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/schools_wfs_project.asp.

SC WPA Grant

A joint project between South Carolina and Georgia to create strong market acceptance required to harness the significant off-shore wind energy capacity in South Carolina and the off-shore and mountain wind energy capacity in Georgia. The project will focus on public outreach especially related to economic development, utility and state information sharing and development of best practices as key components to market acceptance for wind energy in South Carolina and Georgia.

This project is viewed to be a necessary and timely supplement to other related state and regional offshore wind projects aimed at ensuring that the Southeast is able to harness its largest renewable energy resource in a manner that benefits the region and the nation. 

Southeast Offshore Wind Power Symposium

Clemson University, Georgia Institute of Technology and North Carolina State University were proud to host the Southeast Regional Offshore Wind Power Symposium on February 26-27, 2007 in Charleston, SC. The Symposium brought together an outstanding group of experts and speakers to discuss the potential of offshore wind power in the Southeastern United States.

To view speaker presentations or to learn more about the symposium, please visit the Southeast Offshore Wind Power Symposium website.