Winds of Change

Offshore Wind is a topic in the news these days. It has repercussions, especially for the community. The field was a completely unknown topic for me since my field of study is audiovisual arts and communication (in addition I am majoring in English and Spanish). One day, almost a year ago, I saw an advertisement in the university for a fellowship sponsored by various New Jersey organizations about the Offshore Wind Projects developing along the state’s shores. 

I chose to apply because the economic incentive was more than welcome. Still, I consider the experience and the contacts I could win with the fellowship. The first issue for my proposal was my need for more knowledge about the Offshore Wind industry; even though I knew a little about renewable energy, the OFW industry was a new field and a challenge. Besides the theory, my need for more knowledge about the projects already under production in New Jersey was a challenge. So I presented a proposal where I could make a short documentary about the Offshore Wind Project during this stage. Surprised, I received the news that Professor Lal and Professor Vedwan selected my submission. They found the audiovisual part of my proposal attractive, and the idea of producing a movie about the major topics of the OSW was an essential factor in getting the fellowship.

The scholarship is for a year, and I know time flies. Initially, interviews with people discussing the project would be more than enough. After the excitation and the celebration, I started to ask myself what I would do and where I should start. 

The fellowship is provided by NJEDA, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and the idea is to find answers or create questions about the different areas affected by the Offshore Wind Project. The first meeting with the other fellows was at the NJEDA’s office in Trenton. I arranged to be quiet and pay attention to the conversations of my partners; they come from different fields like environmental, engineering, or aquatic matters. They knew technical words. They knew the laws and regulations of the project; they knew already the changes in the project happened a couple of days before the meeting. The meeting started on time, and the people in charge explained the project on our shores and provided us with the necessary information for starting research. At the end of the meeting, I felt overwhelmed and thought that was too much work to do, and I did not know where to start. But I still have eleven months and a couple of weeks.

A few weeks after the event, I contacted a fellow working on the consequences of the bird migration route that crosses the future OFW farms. We set a Zoom meeting, and she sent me some readings that helped me to write my first road map. Oceanography magazine number 33 dedicated the whole edition to the Offshore Wind industry. I had over 100 pages to get information about the industry and similar projects in Europe or other states. 

The magazine touches on important subjects like how developers and fishermen found agreements in European countries. Furthermore, how the cables and electronic equipment can affect the subaquatic life and the migration of fishes and mammals that are important for our ecosystem. The bibliography of that magazine guided me to other sources that helped me to understand the project, or at least in the academic part. 

I made a couple of visits to the shores to speak with the local community, and most of them rejected the camera’s presence. Still, behind the cameras, they commented negative things about the project, like the proximity to the beach and the dead whales that have been happening lately. On the other hand, fishermen were concerned about where they could operate, and the environmentalist defended the project but looked closer at some strategies like the stations without mammals migrating.

My first approach brought questions about the environmental field and the economic part of the project. I resolved to write my first notes and wait for the next meeting at Stockton University,