SECWC to Lead DOE’s Southeast Regional Resource Center

As one of six new Wind Energy Regional Resource Centers recently announced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Southeastern RRC will work to advance the wind industry in the Southeast by providing fact-based information to stakeholders, engaging electric utilities, engaging on wind energy permitting processes and preserving access to quality wind resources – both onshore and offshore.

The Southeastern RRC will be a joint effort of SECWC and several partners including the North Carolina Solar Center at N.C. State University, Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University, Georgia Institute of Technology, the Florida Energy Systems Consortium, James Madison University, Navigant Consulting and a network of over 80 affiliate organizations. These partners have long been reliable sources of unbiased information on wind energy and have a long history of stakeholder engagement in the region.

“Engaging a broad range of stakeholders who may have different views on wind energy is critical to growing the industry in a responsible way,” said Mary Hallisey Hunt, Director of Operations – Strategic Energy Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “The Southeastern RRC team represents a highly credible source of fact-based information on wind energy that can help inform policy and permitting processes in the region.”

The Southeast is different from many other parts of the country with regard to both the opportunities and challenges of deploying wind energy. “The Southeastern RRC team has a keen understanding of market dynamics in the Southeast and has demonstrated the ability to constructively engage with a broad range of stakeholders around wind energy, including utilities, industry, supply chain companies, government, decision-makers, local leaders, and non-profits,” said Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, Director of Business Development at the Clemson University Wind Turbine Testing Facility.

Press release, March 14, 2014