Wind Energy Jobs - Creating jobs by reinventing a long used energy source
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity and windmills for mechanical power. Large-scale wind farms are connected to the electricity network; smaller facilities are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. Wind energy, as an alternative to fossil fuels is plentiful, renewable widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation.
Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy which is then used to drive a generator that converts this energy into electricity. The UK has more usable wind power than any other European country and large scale wind turbine farms on and offshore will become a major supplier of electricity to the national grid in the next twenty years. The UK is the windiest country in Europe, so much so that we could power our country several times over using this free fuel.
Wind Power Jobs are likely to be in the engineering disciplines – in particular jobs for mechanical engineers, structural engineers, development engineers and project engineers.
Other in-demand wind energy jobs:
Wind production technicians. The turbines need to be serviced on a regular basis and must be ready to capture as much wind energy as possible. To meet these needs, it is a wind technician’s job to service wind turbines according to an ongoing maintenance schedule, working in groups of 2 or 3 in order to efficiently repair and maintain each wind turbine within their contracted service area.
Wind farm construction labourer. These require relatively few entry level requirements apart from general safety certifications and a basic understanding of climber safety systems. A job as a Construction labourer on a wind farms involves many different phases of a wind farm’s development including; site preparation, foundation setting, tower assembly, and cable installations. During these phases, there are often several separate work crews onsite that are responsible for completing key steps of the build. In order for the project to ultimately be a success, these crews must all work synergistically in order to erect the tower and bring the wind turbine online. As can be seen, these types of wind power jobs can be quite demanding, especially when subject to tight schedules and contract deadlines.
Wind Turbine Commissioner. It is primarily the job of a wind turbine commissioner to test new systems and subsystems before they are deemed to be field ready. This process, which is known as commissioning, can also be thought of as a final troubleshooting inspection that “permits” a wind turbine to go online for production. Of all the different wind energy jobs in the industry, wind turbine commissioners are by far exposed to the most travel, working their way from project to project as necessary. For those interested in becoming a wind turbine commissioner, typical requirements include; specific knowledge about a particular model of wind turbine, willingness work on the road for weeks at a time, and a background in engineering.
These are just some of the wind energy jobs that are likely to be created across the on and offshore wind farms in the UK over the coming years.