Clemson University has broken ground at its wind turbine drivetrain testing facility at its Restoration Institute in North Charleston, S.C.
The $98 million testing facility will be housed in a former Navy warehouse adjacent to existing rail and ship-handling infrastructure. Planning and construction of the facility is under way and is expected to begin operating in 2012.
The facility will be capable of full-scale, accelerated testing of advanced drivetrain systems for wind turbines in the 5 MW to 15 MW range with a 30% overload capacity.
In November 2009, the Restoration Institute and its partners were awarded a $45 million U.S. Department of Energy grant, which was combined with $53 million of matching funds, to build and operate the large-scale testing facility for next-generation wind turbine drivetrains at the institute's research campus on the former Navy base.
The university's partners are the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the state of South Carolina, South Carolina Public Railways, the South Carolina State Ports Authority and private partners RENK AG, Tony Bakker and James Meadors.
SOURCE: Clemson University
