The turbine is called the Skystream and is part of Santee Cooper's Green Power Fleet.
/ Whitney Gramling
The first-in-the-state wind turbine was turned on Tuesday in North Myrtle Beach.
Nearly one hundred people came out to the dedication ceremony. The turbine is called the Skystream and is part of Santee Cooper's Green Power Fleet.
It stands several stories high and generates about 2.4 kilowatts of power. Engineers say while that's not a lot of power, the new turbine is setting the stage for wind energy research.
The president of the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, Marc Jordan, is hoping it will set the stage for a new niche industry. "Our location off the coast, our 9 miles of coast, our 68 high rises would be ideal to put wind turbines on the roofs to help them power their facilities. All of this sort of fits together for us."
The turbine generates electricity when winds are at speeds between 8 to 29 miles per hour.
Unfortunately, the wind was blowing a different direction at the unveiling.
