Clean energy is expected to power the future of the city and also the careers of thousands of New Yorkers.

Hundreds of high-schoolers disembarked in Red Hook on Tuesday to hear about the fast-developing green energy sector, including offshore wind power.

“Having future jobs open for you,” said Catherine Murphy, a junior student at Urban Assembly New York Harbor School. “It’s really, really cool.”

“It’s interesting how fast it’s becoming popular,” another junior at Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, Liana Martin, noted.

What You Need To Know

  • Hundreds of students visited a career fair to learn more about the green energy sector

  • Offshore wind power will help New York meet its ambitious clean energy goals

  • The city projects offshore wind projects will generate 13,000 jobs in Brooklyn

  • By 2035, New York State has the goal of generating enough wind energy to power six million homes

The career fair, organized by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, is part of the city’s efforts to phase out fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy.

The state expects to have a zero-emission electricity sector by the year 2040.

“Thanking the younger generation for pushing all of us my age and older from moving faster, moving faster into a green economy, a just transition,” said Andrew Kimball, CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. “We are making an investment in the future.”

In March, Mayor Eric Adams announced the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal will become one of the largest offshore wind port facilities in the country, handling the construction of parts and bringing about 13,000 jobs to the city.

Companies like Equinor are expecting to build offshore wind farms miles from the New York Bay and Long Island in the next few years.

“We need to develop our talent workforce for this industry to make sure New York stays a frontrunner within the offshore wind,” Equinor’s community engagement manager Alba Peña said.

Other energy companies, like Rise Light and Power — the owner of Ravenswood, the largest power plant in the city — are trying to adapt to a zero-carbon future.

“That means transitioning old fossil fuel plants into hubs of clean energy,” said Sid Nathan. Rise Light & Power’s vice president of external affairs.

New York State has the goal of generating 9,000 megawatts of power from offshore wind by 2035, enough energy to power six million homes.