Sticking to his conservative values of keeping the SC budget down to a bare minimum, Sanford lost the battle over Mother Nature’s power of the wind.
With a G.E. plant here in the Upstate going full-throttle manufacturing wind turbines and now a wind research site at the Clemson Restoration Institute in North Charleston, we may see wind-powered turbines off SC sooner than you think.
Clemson landed a $45 million grant back in November from the DOE to test wind turbines, and this Wednesday’s 4-1 vote from our Budget and Control Board sets the state’s portion of that money into motion.
“We are at the beginning of a journey that will end with one of the world’s most important sites for wind energy research and development based in South Carolina.”
– Nick Rigas director and senior scientist at CRI
Clemson’s Angela Leidinger said they have letters from wind turbine manufacturers General Electric and Siemens saying they will use the new facility when it’s available in about 3 years. With 60% of the current market already, it’s no wonder Gov. Sanford was the only vote against the deal.
With plenty of in-state wind turbine manufacturing going on, South Carolina is poised to take a giant leap into the GREEN marketplace. Our residents are hungry for work, and our ports are the perfect launching point for customers over seas.
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