Offshore wind organization celebrates Engineers Week with NYC students

Community Offshore Wind celebrated Engineers Week with New York City students.

Photo courtesy of Community Offshore Wind

Community Offshore Wind, a joint clean energy venture between RWE Renewables and National Grid, partnered with local schools across New York City and Long Island to cultivate student interest in STEM fields in celebration of National Engineers Week.

Starting Feb. 18, the organization sponsored 65 field trips for students from under-resourced communities to visit museums in partnership with local community centers in an effort to make science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education more accessible, and to encourage young people to consider careers in those fields.

Offshore wind power is the energy taken from wind forces out at sea by use of wind turbines. This renewable energy form is converted to electricity and subsequently supplied to populations on shore. Since wind is a constant source of energy and since there are carbon offsets for wind power, many large communities — like the Big Apple — are turning to this source as a new means of power, divesting from coal or oil. 

Some advantages of offshore wind are that the energy harvesting is done far away from local populations, eliminating concerns about noise, and its cost-effectiveness — since wind is an infinite source of energy, its use could lead to a significant decrease in energy bills for consumers. The offshore wind industry in the Northeastern US is also slated to create up to 60,000 new jobs, bolstering the economy.

Some downsides to offshore wind, however, are the potential threat to birds and other wildlife, as well as some infrastructural disruptions.

Students from the Red Hook Initiative visited the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, while students from the Joseph Miccio Community Center visited the New York Aquarium and students from the Long Beach Martin Luther King Center visited the Long Island…