Five Ways to Prepare Students for a Career in Wind Energy

Wind turbines are popping up all over, and the need for workers is becoming more and more important. More wind energy was installed in 2020 than any other energy source, and according to the COP26 Climate Change Conference, the global renewable electricity capacity is going to rise by more than 60% from 2020 levels to over 4800 GW by 2026. There are over 100,000+ positions currently supported, and the industry is clearly not slowing down any time soon.

Future wind technicians need to be aware that there is more than just building new turbines; while that is part of the job, there is a lot of other important work that needs to be done. Turbines need to be maintained, troubleshoot and repaired. One of the most important repairs will be done on the nacelles, which contain the equipment that generates electricity. Future wind technicians must have a complete understanding of AC/DC electrical systems and how electricity is used in many ways, including industrial, commercial, agricultural and residential applications. This is also why there are so many different career paths available to a person interested in wind energy.

There are different options beginning in high school, going all the way to university degrees in the wind industry. At the high school level, students will learn basic concepts of alternative energy, which can lead to careers such as residential installer or energy auditor. Community colleges' associate degrees focus on utility-scale wind energy production, which can lead to jobs as wind turbine technicians. There are even university programs that focus on research into alternative energy sources, including wind, solar, and others, which can lead to careers in electrical and power engineering.

Employers want to make sure their employees are not only top candidates for technical jobs, but also have the most up-to-date industry-standard certifications. That is why the IGNITE program makes sure students are able to obtain certifications like the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) Certified Production Technician Plus Skill Boss certification or advanced Industry 4.0 certifications from the Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA).

Students at all levels will have the best equipment and curriculum to learn on. Amatrol’s 850-AEW trainer students will be able to train both indoors and outdoors and will be introduced to important topics such as safety, wind turbine operation, wind turbine performance, energy conservation, demand, and more. They also have wind energy training resources available, including the wind concepts learning system (950-WC1), the turbine electric hub troubleshooting learning system (950-TEH1), the turbine nacelle troubleshooting learning system (950-TNC1), and the turbine generator control troubleshooting learning system (950-TGC1).

Lucas-Nuelle’s smart grid equipment can be used in universities to help prepare students to become electrical or power engineers. The same smart grid equipment can be used in Ph.D. programs and university-level research into emerging smart grid technologies.