Work on a meteorological tower marks the first step toward bringing offshore wind farms to North AmericaSouth Carolina’s largest utility company, Santee Cooper, hopes to go where no US energy provider has gone before: offshore.
The company has been gathering offshore wind data for the past year as part of the Palmetto Wind Research Project, a partnership formed with Carolina Coastal University and the South Carolina Energy Office.

Harnessing sea breezes

The project’s goal is to evaluate South Carolina’s offshore wind resource to determine the feasibility of installing up to as many as 22 offshore turbines in state waters.
On a breezy day, the turbines could produce a total of 80 MW – enough to power roughly 20,000 households.

According to Eric Boessneck, an associate engineer with Santee Cooper’s renewable energy department, initial data suggests “an excellent wind resource” can be found off South Carolina’s coast.

“We hope that resource can play a role in helping us achieve our renewable energy goals,” he says.

Weather station at sea

But before the green light can be given to build America’s first offshore wind farm, Santee Cooper will construct a meteorological tower which can provide a more detailed picture of the area’s wind conditions.

Preliminary assessment work for the tower was completed in February 2010 with Ocean and Coastal Consultants (OCC), a COWI subsidiary based in Connecticut, serving as lead consultant.

Getting the green light

When designing a small-scale weather station perched on an 80-metre tower five kilometres at sea, it is helpful to be able to draw on other COWI competences, says Joe Marrone, the OCC project manager on the first phase of the tower project.

COWI subsidiaries Flint & Neill and Ben C Gerwick assisted with the tower’s construction and geotechnical foundation, respectively. The offshore wind group in Denmark meanwhile provided technical assistance.

“It’s a bit of a cliche to talk about cutting edge,” says Marrone. “But this project is really at the forefront of wind energy in the US. It’s been a good group effort.”