South Carolina Energy Office awarded nearly $500,000 to study wind power potential

Swamp Fox
John Warner
September 16, 2008

The South Carolina Energy Office (SCEO) has been awarded nearly $500,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to study offshore wind power potential in South Carolina.

Specifically, the SCEO, along with its partners from Santee Cooper, Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University and North Carolina State University, will work to overcome existing barriers for coastal clean energy development for wind, wave and tidal energy projects. The grant will be used to develop studies on transmission, resource validation and regulatory barriers. The grant will also establish the South Carolina Coastal Clean Energy Regulatory Task Force to create a regulatory environment conducive to wind, wave and tidal energy development in state waters.

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and Office of Electricity Delivery and Electric Reliability selected nine projects in all from across the country, distributing a total of $4 million to create and implement a policy and regulatory framework that would enable gigawatt-scale clean energy capacity, whether through renewable energy or demand side reductions. While no cost share was required, state partners will contribute up to $1.8 million for the projects ranging from regional protocols to evaluate, measure, verify and report demand-side resource impacts to reports addressing key barriers and incentives for building transmission for renewable energy.

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