Pantagraph.com Weather forecast, local radar and more
NewsSunday, July 27, 2008 11:52 PM CDT
Comments Comments (5) | E-mail this page E-mail this page | Print this page Print this page | Enlarge type Enlarge type | Reduce type Reduce type | Search archives Search archives | RSS RSS feeds | Add to My Yahoo! Add to My Yahoo!
Wind tech programs filling maintenance, repair needs
By Blake Nicholson with Pantagraph reports
Associated Press
Advertisement

BISMARCK, N.D. -- With wind turbine towers popping up on the U.S. landscape at a rate of almost 10 per day, the need for people to maintain and repair them is reaching the critical point.

Community colleges in North Dakota and other states, including Heartland Community College in Normal, are jumping at the chance to help fill that need and develop a niche for themselves at the same time through wind tech programs.

“The demand (for wind technicians) is such that some (colleges) have been trying to keep companies away from the program because they want everybody to graduate first,” said Christine Real de Azua, a spokeswoman for the American Wind Energy Association. “In some cases, students are being picked up after only a couple of months.”

Last year, 3,200 wind turbines were installed across the nation as power companies responded to the push for more green energy. It brought the total number of towers with wind-catching blades to more than 25,000, the association said. Currently, there are wind farms of various sizes operating or proposed in most Central Illinois counties.

The structures vary in size and energy output, but Azua said a general rule is that a two-person operation and maintenance team are needed for every 10 turbines.

“You’re looking at several hundred jobs in just one year,” she said. “These people need to come with training.”

Iowa Lakes Community College, a five-campus school based in Estherville, Iowa, started a wind tech training program in 2004 after Al Zeitz was hired away from General Electric Co. He came in to provide expertise for a wind turbine to help the college reduce energy costs.

“The natural question was, ‘Is there anybody doing any training?”‘ Zeitz said.

The program he started now has a five-member staff. With financial help from the industry, it has grown from two classrooms to six, several offices and a storage facility. The first year, there were 15 students. This fall, there might be as many as 90, taking classes in everything from electrical fundamentals and hydraulic systems to computer networking.

Dwaine Higgins, who graduated from the Iowa Lakes program, said his future is bright. “The job outlook in the wind industry is virtually unlimited,” he said.

Zeitz said it is not uncommon for students in his program to get three or four job offers apiece.

“Employers are coming to us saying, ‘We want to hire 50 people this summer. We want to hire 100 people this summer,” he said. “It’s definitely a big challenge for the industry right now.”

Zeitz said he knows other wind tech programs started by community colleges in Oregon, Minnesota, New Mexico, Wyoming and Kansas, and said several other schools have expressed an interest in such a program.

At Heartland, leaders also have keyed in on wind energy. Though there isn’t a specific program for wind energy technicians, courses that teach core concepts used in the field — such as mechanical and electrical maintenance — are in place, said Bob Shaw, who heads Heartland’s technology division.

And as early as next fall, some advanced technology courses focused on renewable energy could be in place, he said.

The college also is among a consortium of Illinois community colleges putting together a grant to help develop renewable energy programs, said Allan Saaf, Heartland vice president of instruction.

Earlier this month, Heartland erected a 165-foot wind tower to collect a year’s worth of measurable data of the wind speeds on its campus. The information will be submitted as part of a grant application to build a wind turbine, possibly two, on the northern edge of the Raab Road campus. “It would be a great option for providing energy for campus,” spokeswoman Janet Hill-Getz said.

The American Association of Community Colleges doesn’t know how many schools around the country have started wind tech programs, but they’re a natural fit for the two-year schools, spokeswoman Norma Kent said.

“Typically, we’re a bit more flexible in bringing on a new program,” she said. “There’s perhaps less bureaucracy. Community colleges are known for responding to current needs in their community, or current opportunities in their communities. If there’s a need out there, they’re probably going to be the first to recognize it.”

Video
Most commented stories
Browse online archives
Recent issues:
Reader comments on this story - 5 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Herr Hundhausen wrote on Jul 29, 2008 9:38 AM:

" Hilldweller! When are ever going to tell us what type energy policy do you have? You have made comments like.." I wont drive north on 39 so you don't have to look at the turbines. How about driving north on I55 around the Joliet arsenal. Do you like the acrid smell and flame burn offs of the cracking towers? How about driving north on I55 from East Saint Louis towards Springfield. On a clear cold day, one can see a monstrous plume coming from coal burner in Springfield. "

middle of the road wrote on Jul 27, 2008 3:33 PM:

" you want to climb them for min. wage kat? its slightly more dangerous than flipping burgers at Mcdee's. Yet the last I heard mcD pays more than min. wage "

Hilldweller wrote on Jul 27, 2008 2:25 PM:

" You are correct about the fuel source being free. It is the maintenance cost that makes wind energy more expensive than conventional generation. They maintenance workers work in pairs for safety reasons. "

My Two Cents wrote on Jul 27, 2008 11:05 AM:

" The "air" may be free but nothing else is. It is prohibitively expensive for wind developers to pay to build transmission lines for these projects - so they lobby government and make the taxpayer pay. Illinois utility rate payers have been paying for wind transmission charges in increases on their power bills since January of 2007. Why do you think T. Boone Pickens just got the Texas Commission to approve passing the cost along to Texas rate payers - to the tune of something like $2-3 PER CUSTOMER PER MONTH! At least in Texas there is enough wind to produce some power - Illinois has poor winds and little electricity production - it's all about the tax subsidies, green credits and accelerated depreciation benefits these companies get - it has next to nothing to do with producing electricity or "reducing our dependence on foreign oil". "

ktlin wrote on Jul 27, 2008 4:29 AM:

" Two people for every 10 turbines seems a little excessive to me. No wonder they are so expensive to run. It is amazing how someone can take a commodity that is virtually free (air) and make it more expensive to use than something you have to pay for (like oil). Is this accidentally or on purpose? And I wonder how much these jobs will pay. I doubt that it will be minimum wage. "
Add your own comments

Please read the rules before posting comments.

You must be logged in to leave comments.
If you don't have a member ID, please register.

*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login?
(requires cookies)
  Forgot Your Password?
 
Lee Enterprises Customer Service | 301 W. Washington St., PO Box 2907, Bloomington, IL 61701-2907 | Ph. 309-829-9000 | 800-747-7323
Copyright © 2008, Pantagraph Publishing Co. and Lee Enterprises. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy