The developer offered Zoom lessons on sustainable energy to elementary science and STEAM classes, inviting students across Atlantic City, Brigantine, Beach Haven and Long Beach Island to submit essays on the importance of offshore wind
Atlantic City, N.J. — Today Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind (Atlantic Shores), the 50-50 joint venture between EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies US LLC, announced that two local students, Jayliannette Santiago of Atlantic City and Macy Deakyne of Long Beach Island, have won its essay competition on the importance of offshore wind. Jayliannette and Macy’s winning essays earned both the Atlantic City Boys & Girls Club in Chelsea and the Long Beach Island Grade School a $5,000 donation from Atlantic Shores to use toward science education, as well as certificates commemorating the win, a collectable Lego turbine as a trophy for the winning students, and Atlantic Shores t-shirts for their classes.
The developer, who bid into New Jersey’s latest offshore wind solicitation, will name a turbine after the names created by each winning student: Jayliannette’s turbine will be named the “Crazy Turbine”, and Macy’s turbine will be named the “Seaside Turbine.”
Starting last October, Atlantic Shores offered free lessons taught by their project team members via Zoom to fourth grade classes and STEAM clubs about how offshore wind works, how a wind farm is built and operated, and other types of renewable energy sources. Lessons were offered to schools and Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlantic City, Brigantine, Beach Haven and Long Beach Island, all communities nearby to the project site, which will be located 10-20 miles off the New Jersey coast between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light. Students were then invited to submit one-page essays on what renewable energy means to them.
Atlantic Shores will construct plaques identifying each student’s wind turbine and displaying their winning essays, located at two lookout points – one in Long Beach Island and one on the Atlantic City boardwalk near Atlantic Shores’ Education, Community and Outreach Center at Stockton University. Atlantic Shores hopes to continue this contest each year to offer students a chance not only to learn about renewable energy, but to invite the community to participate in the naming of turbines.
“Our school will benefit greatly from the $5,000 that our bright young student earned for us with her thoughtful essay,” said Shelley Smith, who teaches Macy’s fourth grade technology class. “The lesson on offshore wind that Atlantic Shores brought to our students was incredibly engaging and really excited them about how the technology works. This is a crucial time in children’s lives when fostering interest in the sciences can encourage lifelong curiosity.”
Jayliannette said she was inspired by how offshore wind helps communities beyond energy generation. “New jobs, more money for towns and schools, cleaner air and water are just some of the many potential benefits,” she wrote in her winning submission.
Now, Atlantic Shores is making the lesson on offshore wind available for all New Jersey teachers or students to stream for free here.
“We feel it’s important to engage the next generation of scientists and engineers early on, and what better way to do that than to invite them to speak with us directly and help them understand what we’re building and why,” said Jessica Dealy of Atlantic Shores, who developed and taught the lesson. We thought this competition would be a fun and engaging way to ensure young students feel like they have a stake in New Jersey’s clean energy future.”
Atlantic Shores’ proposed project(s), currently under evaluation by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in connection with the NJ Offshore Wind Solicitation #2, have the potential to generate up to 2,300 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable energy to residents across New Jersey, enough power to supply over one million homes.