WATIES ISLAND- Beachgoers on the northern tip of Cherry Grove can see the signs of South Carolina entering a new frontier: wind power.

A 160-foot pole juts into the sky off the mainland side of this uninhabited barrier island, with three small gauges that are measuring wind speeds around the clock. The question is whether there’s enough wind to generate commercially viable electricity on South Carolina’s coast.

Many states already have discovered that their winds can be converted to energy, putting up wind turbines across the country in an effort to produce clean, renewable energy with no carbon dioxide emissions. And South Carolina is looking to join them. […]