A study is underway to determine whether a historical landmark can be sustained by renewable energy sources including solar power, according to published accounts.

South Carolina's Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor could see the renewable systems installed in summer 2011, just months before the site marks its 150th anniversary of being bombed by the Confederates to begin the Civil War, the Post and Courier reports.

"The beauty of the Fort Sumter location is that the electric power demands are not significant," said Russ Keller, vice president of the S.C. Research Authority. "If you were trying to power a large building, you wouldn't have enough land space."

The $1.4 million study, both federal and state funded, is exploring whether solar panels and a hydrogen fuel-cell backup power system will impact the fort's historical integrity. Investigators are unsure if the equipment will fit and they do not want to damage the landmark. Both technologies have been used for military facilities but not yet on a historic site.

"It's a first as far as we know," Sandy Pusey, Fort Sumter National Monument acting facility manager, told the publication.