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Careers In Wind
Energy
Wind is no
longer just for kites and sailboats. Wind can also be a source of
energy. As our concerns about other sources of energy (like fossil
fuels) grow, the wind energy industry is taking off. That means that
many people are looking to the fast-growing wind energy sector to find
work all over North America.
To learn more about using the wind to create energy, we must first
understand where wind comes from.
The sun heats the earth. This heat warms the surrounding air. Once it
becomes a certain temperature, the air rises quickly. This causes a low
pressure area closer to the ground and a higher pressure over the land.
Air moves from high pressure areas to lower pressure areas, and this
movement creates wind.
Humans have discovered a way to use that wind to help create power.
Wind turbines harness the power of the wind.
Wind turbines look like very tall poles with a fan at the top. They
capture the energy in wind and change it into electricity. A wind farm
is a group of wind turbines that are used for power.
Wind energy is renewable energy. Renewable energy is created and
constantly reproduced naturally. Other sources of renewable energy
include solar (from the sun), water and geothermal energy. Geothermal
energy is harnessed from heat inside the earth, atmosphere or oceans.
Scientists are looking at ways to use more sources of renewable energy.
Wind provides a good example of the advantages of this type of energy.
The most obvious advantage is that wind is free! It also doesn't
contribute to global warming. It doesn't produce greenhouse gases or
other harmful substances. And as you might guess, wind will never run
out.
But does it work? In Denmark, 20 percent of the country's electricity
is generated through wind farms. And researchers are developing ways to
improve how we work with wind energy. As interest in these forms of
renewable energy grows, the future for the wind energy sector looks
bright. Companies like General Electric are choosing to set up wind
farms to create power.
David Huggill is a policy manager for a wind energy organization.
According to Huggill, the industry shows signs of continued and strong
growth in the foreseeable future.
"The financial component of our industry has probably never been
stronger and there is an active and competitive marketplace for our
commodity," he says. "There is every reason to believe that the
continued growth in the wind industry will continue for at least 10
years as increased penetration of wind advances throughout North
America."
Meredith Ingram is responsible for public relations and communication
with Renewable Energy Systems (RES) Americas in Austin, Texas. She's
seen a lot of growth in the industry, including in her own organization.
"In the last three years, RES has gone from a 15 to 20 person operation
to having approximately 200 full- and part-time employees across the
country," she said. "It seems like many other renewable energy
companies are facing a similar rate of growth."
RES plans and builds large-scale wind farms. They take care of land
leases and other land and construction issues, and they work with
communities to make sure they understand how wind farms work. The
company has offices in Texas, Oregon, Minnesota and Montreal and offers
many different jobs.
Jobs in wind energy can be short-term positions, doing the tasks
involved in building and developing a wind farm. Or they can be long
term, maintaining and managing the farm.
Possible careers include administrators, engineers, construction
workers, electricians, concrete workers, foundation technicians and
crane operators. All these people are required to start a wind farm and
keep it running.
But there are many other jobs in the wind energy sector. Manufacturers
build hardware for turbines. Project developers are in charge of the
creation of wind farms. Technicians repair and maintain turbines.
Facility managers run the whole operation, from making a budget to
providing customer service.
"Each wind farm will employ a different number of people, depending on
the size of the project, but according to the American Wind Energy
Associations estimations, there are 76 jobs (construction and
maintenance) for every 100 MWs (megawatts of energy)," says Ingram. The
largest wind farm in the U.S. is Florida Power & Light's Horse
Hollow Wind Energy Center. It has a capacity of 735 megawatts.
In Sweetwater, Texas, Doug King is teaching students how to work with
wind turbines. He is the program chair for the wind energy technical
program at Texas State Tech College. He has previously worked with wind
energy.
"We probably have over 2,000 large-scale wind turbines put in the
area," he says. He adds some of the larger companies that manufacture
them include General Electric, Siemens and Mitsubishi.
The wind energy program started in January, 2007. It gives students an
associate's degree and has been popular. Students are interested in the
industry because they gain a variety of skills and will be qualified to
work on multiple types of wind turbines.
"It's one piece of equipment that offers mechanical, electrical,
electronic, computer and communications," he says.
The program starts with an introductory class that teaches students
common turbine terms. Then they job shadow wind technicians for three
days. After that, they take computer applications and networking,
circuitry and a variety of other courses that teach them to maintain
the turbines.
Within 20 months (with no summer vacation), students can be ready for
the work force.
King says the Department of Energy would like to see 20 percent of U.S.
energy needs met by wind power by 2030. Currently only one or two
percent of our energy needs are being filled by wind energy.
King predicts the wind energy sector will grow quickly in the next 10
years.
For those taking training under King, the going rate in Sweetwater is
up to $20 an hour, plus all the overtime workers want.
"You're going to make between $45,000 and $60,000," he says. "There's a
pretty good increase in a short time."
So if you're hoping to work in a new and fast-growing industry, the
answer might be blowing in the wind.
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Net
Sites
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American Wind Energy Association
Voice for the wind energy industry
http://www.awea.org/
Renewable Energy Systems Americas
Finding cleaner sources of energy
http://www.res-americas.com/
KidWind Project
Learn more about wind energy! A great resource to
share with your teacher
http://www.kidwind.org/
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