October 11, 2019 — Dead air. That’s the vibe around the wind power industry in South Carolina that nearly a decade ago saw $100 million invested by public and private sources.
Progress is as flat as the long turbine blade displayed resting on the ground outside Clemson University’s $98 million Energy Innovation Center on the former Navy base in North Charleston.
It hosts one of the largest wind simulators in the world — designed to test huge wind turbines.
The state-of-the-art facility was built in 2013 with $45 million in federal grants along with $53 million in private and state contributions. The intent was to provide a hub for what was widely considered an emerging industry in the state.
That hasn’t happened.
“It’s not living up to the expectations we had,” said state Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, an early champion of the project. “Unless there’s a market for wind energy, there’s no market for wind turbines and there’s not much to do over in North Charleston.”