The Clemson University Restoration Institute has on hand $98 million in funding to support research and development activities for wind energy.

The university and its partners received a $45 million grant from the Department of Energy, combined with $53 million of matching funds, to construct and operate a large-scale facility that will test wind energy drive train components at its research campus in South Carolina.

A drive train is a component that takes the energy generated by a wind turbine’s blades and increases the rotational speed to power the electrical generator.

Steven Chu, energy secretary, said wind turbine sizes have increased with each new generation of turbines, thus outgrowing the capacity of existing drive train testing facilities in the United States.

The new testing facility will then improve the nation’s competitiveness in wind energy technology, while lowering energy costs for consumers.

The testing facility will be built in Building 69 at the Charleston Naval Complex, a former Navy warehouse for nonhazardous materials. It will have the capacity to test advanced drive train systems for wind turbines in the 5-megawatt to 15-MW range, as well as with a 30 percent overload capacity.

Construction is expected to begin early next year and will be finished by the third quarter of 2012. At least 113 new jobs will be created during the construction phase and 21 full-time jobs once the facility starts operations. The facility will also generate about 568 indirect jobs.

The university has partnered with the state government and South Carolina’s Department of Commerce,
Public Railways and State Ports Authority. Other partners are the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority, RENK A.G., Tony Bakker and James Meadors.

The $45 million grant is the largest single award ever given to the Clemson University. The grant will advance the university’s research and development operations, and help make South Carolina one of the leading players in the wind power industry, university officials said.

The Department of Energy estimates that South Carolina could generate 10,000 to 20,000 new jobs related to the wind energy industry during the next two decades.

With continued energy research and technological advancements, the state can help meet the nation’s energy goals, including generating 20 percent of its needs from wind by 2030.

-   Natassia Y. Laforteza