Greenville Business Magazine 2009 August Issue : Page 17

South Carolina and the Wind Energy Debate BY JOHN PERKINS JR, | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JOHN PERKINS JR. “ South Car South Car South Car South Car ina and the Wind Energy Debate BY JOHN PERKINS JR, | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JOHN PERKINS JR. “ can wind energy provide? How does wind fit into the array of al th Carolina and the Wind Energy Debate BY JOHN PERKINS JR, | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JOHN PERKINS JR. “ can can wind energy provide? How does wind fit into the array of alternative energy possibilities? How does wind compare financially? Where is wind most effective? These are important questions because South Carolina is quickly becoming the epicenter of the U.S. wind energy debate. In fact, most of the research that will ultimately decide these questions is underway right in our back yard. But more on that later.Many tout the fact that the Upstate has the stron- gest foreign investment per capita in the United States, but few know that we are also home to two of the main players in wind energy. As the engineering headquarters of GE Energy’s Renewable Systems and world class engineering and con- struction company, Fluor Corporation, it is only natural that significant research initiatives are under way in South Carolina which may well shape the role of wind energy. Wind turbines accounted for 42 percent of all new generating capacity in the U.S., representing a staggering investment of over $250 billion. ” Much of the wind energy debate here and abroad seems to center on offshore wind technology. The winds off U.S. coast- lines are a well-known and excellent source of clean, renew- able energy. So it’s not surprising that generating electricity with advanced wind turbine technology is the fastest growing renewable energy technology in the world. With an annual growth rate as high as 30 percent, wind turbines accounted for 42 percent of all new generating capacity in the U.S., repre- senting a staggering investment of over $250 billion according to the American Wind Energy Association’s 2008 Annual Wind Industry Report. But most U.S. wind power capacity has been installed inland in areas such as the Midwest, West Coast and Appalachian regions due to easily accessible, land-based wind resources. Yet nearly 78 percent of the nation’s electrical de- mand arises from the fastest growing population centers along our 28 coastal states, where readily available wind resources are capable of generating all or most of current and future demand.One would expect that environmental groups and long-time environmental supporters would be universally in favor of these efforts. Not so. Some environmental supporters who would otherwise favor the idea of coastal wind energy as a renewable resource often find that concerns over the impact of these 200 to 300 foot tall structures, especially along scenic coastlines, raise other issues that must be addressed before full- scale adoption of wind energy can move forward. So why are we at the epicenter? Well, not only are we producing most of these wind turbines in Greenville, it turns out that much of the most important research underlying the offshore wind debate is being conducted by Nicholas C. Rigas, Ph.D., Director of Renewable Energy at the Clemson Uni- versity Restoration Institute and the S.C. Institute on Energy Studies. His team leads the state’s efforts to develop alternative energy technology from his Charleston-based facility. Because many of the concerns over wind energy have not yet been studied outside of the industry, his team has led the effort to place monitoring stations along the coast to answer many of the questions and address many of the concerns raised by opponents. The first wind monitoring station was installed in AUGUST 2009 | GREENVILLE MAGAZINE 17

>>columns - South Carolina and the Wind Energy Debate

John Perkins, Jr.

The environmental arena has begun to look like a game of Jeopardy – there are answers of every sort and only a few people asking the right questions. So what should we be asking about wind energy? Perhaps we should start with the basics. What part of our energy needs can wind energy provide? How does wind fit into the array of alternative energy possibilities? How does wind compare financially? Where is wind most effective?

These are important questions because South Carolina is quickly becoming the epicenter of the U.S. wind energy debate. In fact, most of the research that will ultimately decide these questions is underway right in our back yard. But more on that later. Many tout the fact that the Upstate has the strongest foreign investment per capita in the United States, but few know that we are also home to two of the main players in wind energy. As the engineering headquarters of GE Energy’s Renewable Systems and world class engineering and construction company, Fluor Corporation, it is only natural that significant research initiatives are under way in South Carolina which may well shape the role of wind energy.

Much of the wind energy debate here and abroad seems to center on offshore wind technology. The winds off U.S. coastlines are a well-known and excellent source of clean, renewable energy. So it’s not surprising that generating electricity with advanced wind turbine technology is the fastest growing renewable energy technology in the world. With an annual growth rate as high as 30 percent, wind turbines accounted for 42 percent of all new generating capacity in the U.S., representing a staggering investment of over $250 billion according to the American Wind Energy Association’s 2008 Annual Wind Industry Report. But most U.S. wind power capacity has been installed inland in areas such as the Midwest, West Coast and Appalachian regions due to easily accessible, land-based wind resources. Yet nearly 78 percent of the nation’s electrical demand arises from the fastest growing population centers along our 28 coastal states, where readily available wind resources are capable of generating all or most of current and future demand. One would expect that environmental groups and long-time environmental supporters would be universally in favor of these efforts. Not so. Some environmental supporters who would otherwise favor the idea of coastal wind energy as a renewable resource often find that concerns over the impact of these 200 to 300 foot tall structures, especially along scenic coastlines, raise other issues that must be addressed before full-scale adoption of wind energy can move forward.

So why are we at the epicenter? Well, not only are we producing most of these wind turbines in Greenville, it turns out that much of the most important research underlying the offshore wind debate is being conducted by Nicholas C. Rigas, Ph.D., Director of Renewable Energy at the Clemson University Restoration Institute and the S.C. Institute on Energy Studies. His team leads the state’s efforts to develop alternative energy technology from his Charleston-based facility. Because many of the concerns over wind energy have not yet been studied outside of the industry, his team has led the effort to place monitoring stations along the coast to answer many of the questions and address many of the concerns raised by opponents. The first wind monitoring station was installed in June on Waties Island in Horry County, and the second went up in July at the Clemson University Restoration Institute in North Charleston. A third monitoring facility is planned for a location near Myrtle Beach. The monitoring towers are equipped with wind gauges, a barometer, temperature gauge and a solar sensor. Data will be collected for one year to assess the potential for large-scale power generated from coastal winds, with plans to install a commercial-scale wind turbine in North Charleston to support future energy research. That data will also be used to address many of the criticisms raised by those who fear that large wind turbines create more problems than solutions.

As is often the case, complaints range from real to purely farcical. Often opponents of offshore wind energy emphasize the ‘industrial’ nature of wind turbines and their danger to birds and bats. They say the machines are noisy, make some people sick, kill local tourism and real estate values. In a bizarre episode earlier in June, a respected New Jersey doctor was arrested for making online threats to a nearby carwash owner who uses a wind turbine as part of his environmentally friendly carwash. The doctor claimed that the wind turbine kept him up at night. But most often the real reason behind the opposition is aesthetics, placing many longtime environmental stalwarts at odds with promoters of offshore wind energy. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a high-profile environmentalist, has been criticized by Greenpeace for opposing development of a wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod. He defends his position by stating that, “there are appropriate places for everything…and if you want to put them out in the water you probably want to put them out of sight.” In reality most of these wind farms would be built at distances from shore where they would be barely visible, especially in hazy sub-tropic coastal environments like South Carolina. But that seems to matter little to landowners along our coastlines. The battle rages on, and the questions remain unasked.

Politics aside, most experts agree that, properly deployed, wind and solar together are capable of delivering up to 20 percent of our nation’s total energy needs. So wind fits into the array of possibilities as a significant player, currently more so than solar from a purely financial perspective because solar is from 2 ½ to 3 times more expensive to deliver, where wind is fast approaching the cost per kilowatt hour of nuclear energy. As solar energy continues to close the gap, perhaps the real point is that these cost assessments reflect policy incentives. Without social and political support, wind becomes less economically competitive. And finally, wind – like solar – is well-suited only and obviously to places where its force can be measured and maximized. For wind, that is best accomplished off our coastlines.

John Perkins, Jr. is a former electrical engineer and now attorney in the Intellectual Property and Alternative Energy groups at the Nexsen Pruet law firm in Greenville. He works with companies both large and small as they develop and deliver alternative energy solutions worldwide.

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