Offshore wind offers a lot of opportunity for all types of people with different types of interests and backgrounds. If you're interested in getting into the field but you're not sure if you have the right background, make sure you raise your hand when you can and ask for the opportunity. Ask to be given a shot. That's the best way to figure out what you like and what you should be doing.

Head of New York Market Strategy

My name's Jen and I work in renewable energy, specifically offshore wind. I studied business and communications, and found my way into offshore wind after a bunch of experience working for an environmental group, working in government, and it's New York's first offshore wind project. That's the project that I came to work on. And so, that was in 2017, and here we are five years later and now it's being built, so it's been a great journey. So here we're looking at the lift bow, Jill, and she's really tall obviously, but she's working to support an effort that's happening underground. In this project, it's a small project by offshore wind standards, it's only 12 turbines in the end, but it's power for 70,000 homes every year. So that's pretty wild, right? [LAUGH] And 12 turbines. I mean I feel very fortunate to even have this opportunity. It's cutting edge, we're doing something really important, and we're contributing to cleaner air, I mean what's better than that? There's definitely a place for everyone in renewable energy, certainly in offshore wind as well I think that you just find your way and work hard and just be a continuous learner and you'd be amazed at what you can achieve. 

Jennifer Garvey Highlight

My name's Jen, and I work in renewable energy, specifically Offshore Wind. I'm part of a development team. I lead a lot of our stakeholder engagement and support the permitting effort that occurs before projects are built. Also the bidding process and the effort to try and win awards for additional projects. I came on board when we had a contract to sell power if you could build your project. [LAUGH] And then we started with outreach here in the community of East Hampton where we knew we had to bring our power ashore. The turbines for south wind are located about 35 miles east of Montauk, which is the most eastern part of Long Island here in New York. That's sort of one fixed point where the turbines are located in an offshore wind lease area. The other fixed point for our project is the place where we needed to connect our power to the grid, which is called the point of interconnection. And so our job is to figure out how to get from the offshore wind lease area where turbines will be to the grid and to figure out what is the least impactful way to do that from an environmental perspective, from a community perspective. And so that's what we spent years doing is kind of talking to the community, thinking about what was the best way to sort of navigate through the community of East Hampton. So here we're looking at the lift bow, Jill, and she's really tall obviously, but she's working to support an effort that's happening underground to do the horizontal directional drilling, which is how we set this submarine cable deep underneath the near shore in the beach. And so there's some equipment on land. That's where the drilling equipment is set up. The drill we'll start about 500 feet back in the road, and then drill deep underneath the road, underneath the beach, underneath the nearshore area, and come up just in front of that vessel. And then the big vessel with the submarine cable will arrive, or coiled up on the back, and then the cable itself will be pulled through that path. And this project, it's a small project by Offshore Winds Standards. It's not only 12 turbines in the end, but it's power for 70,000 homes every year. So, that's pretty wild, right? [LAUGH] And 12 turbines. I mean, I feel very fortunate to even have this opportunity. It's cutting edge. We're doing something really important. And with each challenge that comes your way, you have to think about the best way around it, right? 

Day In The Life Of A Development Manager For Offshore Wind

My name's Jane and I work in renewable energy, specifically offshore wind. I'm part of a development team. I lead a lot of our stakeholder engagement and support the permitting effort that occurs before projects are built. Also the bidding process and the effort to try and win awards for additional projects. And I studied business and communications and found my way into Offshore Wind after a bunch of experience working for an environmental group, working in government, working for a university, and here I am in Offshore Wind. Can you tell us about just your path? &gt;&gt; Sure. &gt;&gt; You studied business and how you've ended up in renewable energy. What was that like? &gt;&gt; A lot of just work based experience. I mean, I started a lot of jobs just jumping into the fire, things that maybe I didn't even feel like I was prepared for. As I mentioned, I worked for an environmental group. It was a land preservation group, and so I learned a lot of the economic arguments that were really useful to learn about that were just new to me, frankly. It was just really fun and interesting and empowering to learn more about how to communicate the benefits of land preservation from an economic perspective. We're here on Long Island today, and the environment is our economy. We're surrounded by water, but we've also had some challenges with water quality as a result of overdevelopment. And so that was just an area that was incredibly interesting to me and that initiative took me to Stony Brook University where I helped to co-found and run a water technology center that was more innovation based. So it was a lot of fun to work with different scientists. And also to understand I kind of brought the business and external lens, the government lens paired up with scientists to think about, how could we make more efficient systems to treat a particular problem. But I ultimately left that to come to Offshore Wind, it was just an opportunity. It felt like I couldn't pass up. It was such an interesting new field to be a part of. And it's New York's first Offshore Wind project that's a project that I came to work on. And so, that was in 2017 and here we are five years later, and now it's being built so it's been a great journey. 

My Career Path

You sound like you're really passionate about this work. How important is it for us to implement this into our energy circle? &gt;&gt; The goal is clean energy and opportunity, right? We need clean energy now, we're obviously looking to move away from fossil fired power and to be working with as much clean energy as you possibly can. This is a great way to do that quickly. But offshore wind is also about opportunity. We're standing up a whole new industry here in the United States. This is an industry that's really mature now in Europe and in other parts of the globe. And they've seen enormous opportunity as a result. We're hoping to bring that similar opportunity here. And so, it's just a lot of jobs, right? And we're contributing to cleaner air. What's better than that? It's such an important and lasting effect. It's important to future generations. What's not to like? [LAUGH] 

Opportunity

Values

The Importance Of Offshore Wind

We were just wondering if you had any final words of advice for people in our shoes, young people entering the workforce in this area of clean energy. &gt;&gt; I'd say it's a great thing to work on topics, and on projects that you're passionate about. I mean, you've heard that before, obviously, but it really does help. And I would just say, stick your hand up, just don't be shy. I mean, as you've learned from my career path too, there's a lot of different ways in and we have a real need for diverse skill sets, different backgrounds, different perspectives. And it just all contributes to connecting the dot and putting interdisciplinary teams together, even better things happen when you combine skill sets. And so, it's definitely a place for everyone in renewable energy, certainly in offshore wind as well. I think that you just find your way in, work hard, and just be a continuous learner, you'd be amazed at what you can achieve. 

Support & Encouragement

Advice For Young People Starting Their Careers In Renewable Energy

Are there any aspects of this process that you've found to be challenging, or unenjoyable, or? &gt;&gt; I mean, there were lots of challenges, I mean, that's just part of the fun though. I'd say that the permitting process is really complex. You've got a lot of parallel processes, we have one process with the federal government, we have a process with the state government. Depending on where you're located, we have a process with the local town governments. We had two boards here in the community of East Hampton that we had to work with. So it's a lot of people, a lot of agencies to get on board to sort of like sync up timewise. If there's a delay in one area, it can have cascading effects on the rest of your project. And not just from a permitting perspective, but also from a construction perspective. Like a permitting delay of one month could set you back to another construction season, for example, because we have a lot of environmental windows that we have to work with. So, it's just complicated, but like I said, that's part of the fun. And I think that there's been a lot of work to bring your stakeholders along to help them understand sort of the whole board that you're working with. It can be a challenge sometimes if you're working on a project and you're talking to someone who has a particular role. And they're working on a narrow piece of that and you have to keep in mind the entire board. And so you just wanna continue to share the story about, this is why we need to do this now for example, or why we can't wait until x time. So storytelling is all part of the success of offshore wind. 

Struggle

Challenges Of Working In Offshore Wind

Environmental Science can be pretty depressing sometimes, it can sometimes feel like there's not really much to do. What gives you hope about the future?. &gt;&gt; I mean look at what we've already fixed, I mean, if you look at the Hudson used to be incredibly polluted and we fix that. Think about how our homes, our appliances to become more fun Efficient, we've solved a lot of problems already. And when you hang around with people who are good at solving problems it gives you hope that, we can think our way out of this. We're clever people, we got a lot of tools at our disposal, there's so many folks who've gone before us that have laid great groundwork. And so, I'm quite sure that we can think our way through things, but we have to will it too. I mean, you also have to do your part. You have to tell stories around the importance of doing this so that people are willing to take action themselves. I think that is a big challenge that we have, sometimes you can be spoiled by your comforts. If you're not facing a problem head on, and It's a little harder to take it seriously on the day to day and find meaningful ways to have impact, but that's something worth thinking about. And just reading up and staying connected to ways that you can help even in small ways, or in big ways in the case of offshore winds [LAUGH] 

Staying Hopeful About The Future Of Our Environment

So what's been like it like, for the most part, for like 5 years now? &gt;&gt; No, we had our ups and downs. We've had a lot of support from this community. East Hampton's a pretty progressive place, but we also ran into some opposition. There's just a lot of different groups to get permissions from a lot of agencies weighing in, and so it'll take a bit of time. And frankly, we're trailblazing, this will be the second project to have a permit from the federal government but we'll be probably the first project to be constructed in federal waters. And so here we're looking at the lift boat drill. And she's really tall, obviously, but she's working to support an effort that's happening underground to do the horizontal directional drilling, which is how we set the submarine cable deep underneath the nearshore in the beach. And so there's some equipment on land, that's where the drilling equipment is set up. That drill will start about 500 feet back in the road. And then drill deep underneath the road, underneath the beach, underneath the near shore area and come up just in front of that vessel. And then the big vessel with the submarine cable will arrive or coiled up on the back, and then the the cable itself will be pulled through that path. And this project is a small project by offshore wind standards, it's only 12 turbines in the end, but it's power for 70,000 homes every year. So that's pretty wild, right? [LAUGH] In 12 turbines. I mean, I feel very fortunate to even have this opportunity, it's cutting edge, we're doing something really important. And with each challenge that comes your way, you have to think about the best way around it. 

Focus

About Offshore Wind

Most places that I've seen that do offer wind for the community, most of the time there's not much thought about the drilling or outreach to the community. How do you feel about that and what does the outreach in the community, what should it look like? &gt;&gt; Sure, great question. So I mean, we did a lot of community based meetings. There were some people who oppose the project which is common in any development projects, but at one point I remember, one of our projects opponents even acknowledged that the project had been talked about to death. I mean, it was very widely known and understood in the community what was proposed. We did countless just meetings at different community groups before the town board, they're televised, really accessible. This is a pretty small town anyway, so we met one on one with stakeholders, anybody who is interested, they'd come to our office, we go to them. And so just talking to folks really, and then now as we approach construction, we have boots on the ground, people who've been going door to door. It's one thing to talk about a project for a while and then you get all your permissions and you can really define exactly what will happen and when, and what machines will be used for example. And so then, we're in a place where we can literally go door to door and tell people, okay, this is the timeframe we'll be working in, we'll be on your street at this time. Do you have any questions for us? We're never blocking access to homes or anything like that. But it's still a construction train that's coming down the street and so, communication on detours, like brief deep tours or school buses and that kind of thing. So, our intention really was that everybody should know what we're doing and when we're doing it. 

Community

Incorporating The Community In Our Offshore Wind Projects

My name is Jen, and I work in renewable energy, specifically offshore wind. I'm part of the development team. I lead a lot of our stakeholder engagement, and support the permitting effort that occurs before projects are built. Also the bidding process and the effort to try and win awards for additional projects. And I studied business and communications, and found my way into offshore wind after a bunch of experience working for an environmental group, working in government, working for a university, and here I am in Offshore Wind. &gt;&gt; Can you tell us about just your path? &gt;&gt; Sure. &gt;&gt; You studied business, and now you've ended up in renewable energy, what was that like? &gt;&gt; A lot of just work-based experienced, I mean, I started a lot of jobs just jumping into the fire. Things that maybe I didn't even feel like I was prepared for. As I mentioned, I worked for an environmental group. It was a land preservation group, and so I learned a lot of the economic arguments that were really useful to learn about, that were just new to me, frankly. It was just really fun and interesting and empowering to learn more about how to communicate the benefits of land preservation from an economic perspective. We're here on Long Island today, and the environment is our economy. We're surrounded by water, but we've also had some challenges with water quality as a result of overdevelopment. And so that was just an area that was incredibly interesting to me. And that initiative took me to Stony Brook University where I helped to co-found and run a water technology center. That was more innovation-based, so it was a lot of fun to work with different scientists. And also to understand, I kind of brought the business and external lens, the government lens, paired up with scientists to think about how could we make more efficient systems to treat a particular problem. But I ultimately left that to come to offshore wind, it was just an opportunity I felt like I couldn't pass up. It was such an interesting new field to be a part of. And it's New York's first offshore wind project, that's a project that I came to work on. And so that was in 2017, and here we are five years later, and now it's being built. So it's been a great journey. &gt;&gt; So what's been it like for the most parts, for like five years now? &gt;&gt; We had our ups and downs. We've had a lot of support from this community. East Hampton is a pretty progressive place. But we also ran into some opposition. There's just a lot of different groups to get permissions from, a lot of agencies weighing in. And so it all takes a bit of time, and frankly, we're trailblazing. This will be the second project to have a permit from the federal government. But we'll be probably the first project to be constructed in federal waters. So here we're looking at the liftboat Jill, and she's really tall, obviously. But she's working to support an effort that's happening underground to do the horizontal directional drilling. Which is how we set the submarine cable deep underneath the nearshore and the beach. And so there's some equipment on land, that's where the drilling equipment is set up. That drill will start about 500 feet back in the road. And then drill deep underneath the road, underneath the beach, underneath the nearshore area, and come up just in front of that vessel. And then the big vessel with the submarine cable will arrive, all coiled up on the back, and then the cable itself will be pulled through that path. And this project, it's a small project by offshore wind standards. It's only 12 turbines in the end, but it's power for 70,000 homes every year. So that's pretty wild, right? [LAUGH] In 12 turbines. I mean, I feel very fortunate to even have this opportunity. It's cutting edge, we're doing something really important. And with each challenge that comes your way, you have to think about the best way around it. &gt;&gt; You sound like you're really passionate about this work. How important is it for us to implement this into our energy circle? &gt;&gt; I mean, the goal is clean energy and opportunity, right? We need clean energy now. We're obviously looking to move away from fossil-fired power, and to be working with as much clean energy as we possibly can. This is a great way to do that quickly. But offshore wind is also about opportunity, I mean, we're standing up a whole new industry here in the United States. This is an industry that's really mature now in Europe and in other parts of the globe. And they've seen enormous opportunity as a result. We're hoping to bring that similar opportunity here, and so it's just a lot of jobs right? And we're contributing to cleaner air, I mean, what's better than that? It's such an important and lasting effect. I mean, it's important to future generations. What's not to like? [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; Yeah, we were just wondering if you had any final words of advice for people in our shoes, young people entering the workforce in this area of clean energy? &gt;&gt; I'd say it's a great thing to work on topics and on projects that you're passionate about. I mean, you've heard that before, obviously, but it really does help. And I would just say, stick your hand up, just don't be shy. I mean, it's you've learned from my career path too, there's a lot of different ways in. And we have a real need for diverse skill sets, different backgrounds, different perspectives. And it just all contributes to connecting the dots and putting interdisciplinary teams together. Even better things happen when you combine skill sets. And so there's definitely a place for everyone in renewable energy, certainly in offshore wind as well. I think that you just find your way in, work hard, and just be a continuous learner, you'd be amazed at what you can achieve. 

Interview

One important thing to know about offshore wind is, obviously, we have really big and ambitious clean energy goals here in New York State and in throughout the Northeast. And we cannot meet those goals without offshore wind. The benefit of offshore wind is that it allows you to build clean energy at the scale that is necessary to have a chance at meeting our targets for this green energy transition. We're building, for example, very large offshore wind farms at this point. South Fork Wind happens to be small, but it's 12 turbines that will provide enough energy for 70,000 people every year. We're building another project for New York, it's 924 megawatts, it's power for nearly 600,000 people every year. And so we're talking about installations that are comparable to the amount of power that was previously generated by major onshore generators like big fossil fuel facilities, nuclear facilities. And so you just need that ability to scale up really quickly, and you can do that most efficiently with offshore wind. 

The Value Of Offshore Wind

Empowered State

The state of New York leads a clean energy revolution

Electric planes. Towns powered by waterfalls. Offshore wind farms. This isn't the far-off future of clean energy—it's what's happening right now in New York State. Join three New Yorkers as they explore the clean energy revolution taking place in their backyard.

Logo of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

Movie poster with the text "Empowered State" written within an outline of the state of New York laid over a tree-lined city street.

Roadtrippers Leila and Julia add a "Roadtrip Nation" sticker to the side of their low-emissions rental car. 

Leila, David, and Julia show off their matching ponchos as they cruise through Niagara Falls on the "Maid of the Mist" boat tour.

As the chief transformation officer and regional manager of Western New York at the New York Power Authority, Daniella Piper helps lead operations at the Niagara Power Project.

As acting director of sustainability for the City of Ithaca, Rebecca Evans hopes to create a new blueprint for how cities everywhere can go green.

The "Empowered State" roadtrippers take a break to relax, reflect, and cook s'mores over a campfire.

Emma Davis is a test pilot at Beta Technologies, which has developed an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

The roadtrippers hang out with Michael Phinney, an architect who was the team leader on the first certified green building in New York State.

The roadtrippers sit down with Cheryl Whilby, who runs communications and development at Soul Fire Farm near Albany, NY.

The roadtrippers check out the views of New York City from the glass observation box at The Edge New York.

Elizabeth Yeampierre is the executive director of UPROSE, a community-based organization that fights for environmental and climate justice.

Jennifer Garvey is the head of New York market strategy at Ørsted, an energy company that is currently building two wind farms off the coast of New York.

Kereem Berry is the executive director of M.A.P.P., Inc., a nonprofit working to help historically underserved populations find careers in the building and construction trades.

The roadtrippers spend a night off laughing over a family dinner.

Kathy Hannun is the co-founder and president of Dandelion Geothermal, which helps homes and businesses across New York convert to geothermal energy.

The roadtrippers wrapped up their journey in New York City, where they met Tony Lee, the chief technical officer at Revel—a ride-sharing company with a fleet of electric cars and mopeds.

Leila smiles next to a plaque reading "Elmira College, founded 1855."

David takes a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Julia uses technology to help her with her work as an energy engineer.

New York Clean Energy

[MUSIC] New York is close to my heart. Most of my family lives here. My parents grew up here. &gt;&gt; It's kind of like its own microcosm. This feeling of there's always something happening, no matter where you are or what time it is. &gt;&gt; It's gorgeous, is so beautiful and full of life and full of different types of cultures and things like that. But the Earth has finite resources, and we're using the resources at such a fast rate that if we keep going, it'll all be gone and we won't be able to enjoy it anymore. &gt;&gt; It seems like there are those straightforward solutions right in front of us. And I guess that's what this road trip is for. Hopefully, we'll be able to figure out what's stopping us from jumping onto clean energy. [MUSIC] So for the next three weeks. &gt;&gt; I'll be traveling with Julia and David around New York interviewing a bunch of leaders in sustainability and clean energy. &gt;&gt; Normally, Roadtrip Nation takes these road trips in these big green RVs. But, we're actually gonna be in energy-efficient vehicles for our trip. We're gonna be interviewing leaders in variety of spaces including high efficiency buildings, heat pump technology, wind energy, solar energy, clean transportation. &gt;&gt; I'm mostly excited to just to gain a new perspective on clean energy. &gt;&gt; How do we make buildings create more energy than then they even use and net positive? How do we have zero carbon buildings? How do we make buildings more alive? &gt;&gt; I'm excited to ask about their journey. &gt;&gt; I'm really glad that you're on this road trip trying to explore or to take some time to think about who you are and how you fit into something and how you can create something new. [MUSIC] &gt;&gt; I'm looking forward to taking some of the stuff I've learned from this trip back to my life. &gt;&gt; Seems like all three of us are super passionate about the field. &gt;&gt; It'll be an adventure. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; Aah! &gt;&gt; We'll all get to know each other and I'm sure we'll be like super close. It kind of reminds me of camp [LAUGH]. [MUSIC] 

A new series exploring the most exciting innovations in clean and renewable energy through the eyes of three young adults.

Empowered State Trailer

Meet the roadtrippers, then follow along as they explore hydroelectric power’s potential at Niagara Falls and visit one of New York's greenest cities.

Episode 1: Power for Good

The roadtrippers climb inside the next generation of electric planes and learn how to harness the Earth's power through geothermal energy.

Episode 2: Under the Ground and Through the Air

How can we make sure the clean energy revolution creates a better future for all? The roadtrippers talk to policymakers and activists about the human side of the switch.

Episode 3: A More Equitable Revolution

As the trip comes to an end, interviews with clean energy executives and entrepreneurs help the roadtrippers tap into their own power to drive the industry forward.

Jennifer Garvey

Head of New York Market Strategy

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Jennifer Garvey

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My work combines:

My work combines:

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Empowered State

Jennifer Garvey

Head of New York Market Strategy

Videos

Jennifer Garvey

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Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Business

Technology

Working with Others

Advice for Getting Started

Interviewed By

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