Winds of change have swept through South Carolina, and they carry the seeds of a revolution. A decade into the 21st Century, the United States is faced with an aging and deteriorating infrastructure and a rapidly depleting supply of non-renewable resources. And the Grand Strand is at the epicenter of a new movement to restore the country's infrastructure and economy by building on renewable resources; for residents of the Palmetto state, this means wind, a renewable, primary source of energy the Grand Strand has in abundance.
South Carolina is strategically poised to become a hub in this burgeoning industry, as up and down the East Coast, states such as Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia scramble to be the first in the race to develop offshore wind farms. Capitalizing on natural and manmade resources readily available in our own backyard, The Palmetto State may emerge as the big winner as teams of researchers, scientists and engineers from Coastal Carolina University, Clemson University, the South Carolina Energy office and Santee Cooper work collaboratively with industry and environmental leaders and state and local officials to harness the kinetic energy of the offshore wind industry. It's a green revolution, combining environmental awareness with economic recovery, and has the potential to breathe new life - and jobs - into our area.
The development of the silicon chip led the way for Silicon Valley in Southern California as a hub of technology in the 1970s. Could off-shore wind do the same for South Carolina, and transform "Sun Fun City" with its beaches, bikers, bars, and bikinis into a hub of green technology, the Windy City of the Southeast Coast?