NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (Oct. 16, 2025) – 200 Rhode Island high school students, educators, and industry partners got a close-up look at the state’s offshore wind industry this fall through the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce’s WindWinRI program.
On September 22, 169 students from six high schools including Central Falls, Coventry, Exeter-West Greenwich, Pawtucket- Shea, Providence, and West Warwick attended a tour of the Block Island Offshore Wind Farm aboard Rhode Island Fast Ferry’s Julia Leigh. The group was accompanied by 16 teachers and representatives from industry and partner organizations, including Ørsted, Coastal Resource Management Council, Blue Wave Imagery, Inspire Environmental, and URI.
The event was narrated by representatives from RI’s Coastal Resource Management and Orsted.
WindWinRI Program Manager, Dr Joy McGuirl-Hadley said, “The students attending this field trip had an opportunity to see what they are learning in the classroom. This is STEM at its best! Students were able to compare the 3 ft. wind turbines they built for the annual RI Wind Turbine Competition to the 600 ft wind turbines with blades the length of a football field that they saw off Block Island.”
Earlier this year at the URI Bay Campus, KidWind (the premier wind energy educators for youth) teamed with WindWinRI and the URI Coastal Resources Center to host a three-day educator workshop. Teachers and after-school program educators were introduced to the technology and economics of offshore wind. Participants came from Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Iowa.
With the support of Real Jobs at the RI Department of Labor and Training, the WindWinRI initiative has awarded over 50 high school students an Offshore Wind Energy High School Certification. Focused on engineering and environmental science, this certification gives students a head-start towards careers in Rhode Island’s growing offshore wind sector.
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