SC to Research and Test Wind Turbines, Could Bring Thousands of Jobs
November 30, 2009 by senatormcconnell
North Charleston’s navy base will soon become the world’s first testing ground for large offshore wind turbines and the research will happen at Clemson University.
The almost $100 million project will help South Carolina lead the country in research for transforming wind energy to electricity and state lawmakers say that’s only the beginning.
“The winds of change are blowing in South Carolina. Boeing announcement was huge. This could be as equally large as Boeing,” State Senator Larry Grooms said.
South Carolina beat several states out of the $45 million grant that will put South Carolina on the map.
The good news doesn’t stop with the Lowcountry leading the way in wind energy research, it also means extra jobs for the Palmetto state. Read more
Uplifting economic winds
November 28, 2009 by senatormcconnell
One month and one day ago came the big — and hugely welcome — news that Boeing would bring 3,800 jobs our way by putting a manufacturing facility for its 787 Dreamliner in North Charleston. Six days ago, another uplifting economic story broke as the U.S. Energy Department announced a $45 million federal grant to help establish a $98 million “test bed” on the former Charleston Naval Base for the world’s largest wind turbines. S.C. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell predicts that this project, which will be part of the Clemson Restoration Institute, will eventually generate from 10,000 to 20,000 jobs. Read more
North Charleston gets turbine facility
November 24, 2009 by senatormcconnell
North Charleston gets turbine facility
By Tony Bartelme , Yvonne Wenger
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The U.S. Energy Department said Monday that a site on the former Charleston Naval Base in North Charleston would become a test-bed for the world’s largest offshore wind turbines, a move that lawmakers said may turn out to be a Boeing-size economic development prize.
A consortium led by Clemson University’s Restoration Institute beat proposals and aggressive lobbying efforts by Pennsylvania, Michigan and several other states to land a $45 million federal grant to jump-start the project.
“Wind power holds tremendous potential to help create new jobs and reduce carbon pollution,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement announcing the grant. “We are at the beginning of a new Industrial Revolution when it comes to clean energy, and projects like these will help us get there faster.”
Experts say the lab would put North Charleston on the map as a key player in the global wind power industry. It is planned to be located in a large vacant industrial building at the center of the former Navy base, not far from where conservators are restoring the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley. The facility will be operated as a nonprofit and provide cutting-edge testing to interested wind power manufacturers.
Read more
Former Navy base secures $45M wind turbine development grant
November 24, 2009 by senatormcconnell
South Carolina’s industrial sector was bolstered yet again Monday afternoon when the Department of Energy awarded a $45 million grant to research and develop ocean-based wind turbines at the former Naval base.
The Clemson Restoration Institute was notified Monday that the Naval base would be the first ever testing facility for the renewable energy source, putting South Carolina and Charleston on the “cutting edge of research and development of renewable energy,” said a source. Read more
Senator Glenn McConnell From Boeing Groundbreaking
November 23, 2009 by senatormcconnell
Senator Glenn McConnell, who helped lead the effort to bring Boeing to South Carolina, speaks at the dreamliner plant groundbreaking.
Boeing’s work begins: ‘Gentlemen, start your engines’
November 23, 2009 by senatormcconnell
Boeing’s Dreamliner facility in North Charleston will raise South Carolina’s standing in the world, state politicians said this morning during a groundbreaking ceremony that signified the start of a six-building construction project.
In a departure from the typical dirt-tossing or red-ribbon cutting staples of a groundbreaking, the 10 politicians and one company executive on the stage of deal makers dropped Boeing flags in NASCAR style – indicating the race had begun.
“Gentlemen, start your engines,” said the CEO of InterTech Group and local community leader Anita Zucker, who emceed the event.
Read more
Boeing Breaks Ground for Historic Plant
November 23, 2009 by senatormcconnell
Work has officially started on building Boeing’s $750 million aircraft assembly plant in South Carolina — the largest industrial investment in state history.
The company last month chose North Charleston over Everett, Wash., for the assembly plant, but Boeing’s commercial airplane division president Jim Albaugh says the new plant should still more jobs to Washington, too.
The North Charleston plant is expected to create 3,800 jobs within seven years and construction will mean another 2,000 jobs.
Read more
Boeing breaks ground on new Dreamliner plant
November 21, 2009 by senatormcconnell
It was a lofty moment in Lowcountry history: Boeing broke ground, setting the stage for South Carolina’s economy to take off.
South Carolina’s top representatives — on local, state and federal levels — hailed the company’s decision to build a second 787 Dreamliner assembly plant in North Charleston at a ceremony Friday that marked the official start of construction at the site. Hundreds of workers from the existing Boeing and Global Aeronautica fuselage plants spilled out onto the tarmac at the Charleston airport to watch the fanfare. Read more
Boeing Breaks Ground on Second 787 Assembly Line in North Charleston, SC
November 20, 2009 by senatormcconnell
Boeing facility expands production capability and increases footprint in South Carolina
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) today held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction for the second final assembly site for the 787 Dreamliner program at its Boeing Charleston facility. The facility also will have the capability to support the testing and delivery of airplanes. Read more
Confederate Flag issue again in state politics
November 19, 2009 by senatormcconnell
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mullins McLeod released a jobs plan for the state Thursday that says South Carolina should remove the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds.
McLeod says the Confederate flag debate continues to hold the state back and the state can’t compete economically in the face of those old arguments. He said the state should remove the flag to grow the state economy
The flag at a monument to Confederate war dead at the Capitol already has been a topic in the 2010 race. Republican candidates in their first debate in September closed the door to removing the banner.
Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell, who played a major role brokering the compromise that removed the flag from the Statehouse dome in 2000, quickly rejected McLeod’s suggestion Thursday. Read more
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