PORTSMOUTH, Va. — As construction begins on Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, a group of teens are getting a closer look at the work underway.
About 125 high school girls from five different school divisions in the area got to see the future of offshore wind that's happening right in their backyards.
“These giant steel tubes that almost kind of look like cigarettes," said Sigi Huerta, the offshore wind operations manager with the Port of Virginia. "Those are the monopiles.”
Huerta said it’s the first portion of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project.
“Early May, maybe late April, we’re going to be starting to deliver these out 25 miles offshore,” Huerta said.
“This kind of stuff just blows my mind,” said Smithfield High School Senior Shelby Huffaker.
Shelby began learning about offshore wind last year. She said she’s fascinated by this experience of seeing the offshore wind project begin to come to life.
“How big and massive these turbines are, the bases and the process and how they transport all these parts,” she said.
She and many other students had the chance to ask many questions about this project and about fulfilling a career in this field. That’s the hope behind this effort, according to Christina Brooks, the senior director of Community Initiatives with the Hampton Roads Workforce Council.
“It is so important that we connect the next generation of our talent with these opportunities,” Brooks said.
It’s part of the program called GLOW, also known as Girls Lead Offshore Wind, which inspires girls to pursue a career in the industry.
“They’re going to get to meet individuals who are currently working on the offshore wind industry today," Brooks said. "It is an amazing opportunity for them to see firsthand what their future holds.”
Brooks hopes this initiative not only boosts the job force but also reminds teens like Shelby of the vast opportunities in front of them.
They later visited training facilities at Centura College, learned about the maritime program at ODU’s Webb Center, and met with members of “Women of Wind” and women executives leading the way in offshore wind.