My Head Is In The clouds!! Literally!!!!
#61
Challenges are not what we think they are
Advantages happen and come to us
What we never thought we could ever do
Become what we do every day
And what we thought of ourselves changes
Because tomorrow
We are not who we were the day before
And it becomes us...
We are what we are doing
And have done.
And yet also
Who we were
Funny about that
Advantages happen and come to us
What we never thought we could ever do
Become what we do every day
And what we thought of ourselves changes
Because tomorrow
We are not who we were the day before
And it becomes us...
We are what we are doing
And have done.
And yet also
Who we were
Funny about that
Last edited by Greywolf; 10-12-2007 at 08:34 PM.
#62
Originally Posted by monsterbaby
I don't know for sure where the ones your working on are actually made but I have been following a lot of the blades across southern Iowa lately on my daily run. I also hear they are talking about building another production facitlity in Iowa soon. Knowing you were going into this I often wonder as I am passing those blades if they are going out to where your at.
#64
Hey,I have a couple of questions for you bunny,,,,First,How am I supposed to whisper in your ear if your head is up in the clouds? Ok seriously,What is the base of these turbines?I mean the size of it,I know it is concrete,Im just curious how deeply it goes in the ground,and what keeps the base from loosening from the constant movement from the wind?
Hmmm,I think I need one of those lawn chairs with a zillion balloons tied to it!Of course with my luck,I would probably get pushed into the prop by the wind.
Hmmm,I think I need one of those lawn chairs with a zillion balloons tied to it!Of course with my luck,I would probably get pushed into the prop by the wind.
#65
The ground is compacted first, then the foundation is poured. It is 53 feet across and over 9 feet high at the center. It has 26 tons of re-bar intertwined throughout the 340 cubic yards of concrete. The 120 connection bolts for the base are 13 feet long. Then they cover the foundation with dirt to make it pretty!! This is all you see when they are done.
Last edited by Snowbunny; 10-14-2007 at 05:06 PM.
#68
#70
I go to a small community college in The Dalles, Oregon. They have the only Renewable Energy Technician (RET) program on the west coast, and it is geared specifically for wind energy. We even have our own turbine to work on. There is one other school in New Mexico or Arizona that offers something similar, but they concentrate mainly on theory. We had over 300 applicants for the program and they only had room to let in 34.
But, becasue the demand is so high for technicians, and getting higher, more schools should be offering the program soon, I would think. I know that there are a few schools in the mid-west and east coat that offer the program.
We are pretty fortunate because we live so close to the wind farms and can get OJT. In class we study electricity, hydraulics, gear boxes, physics, computer programming, pre calc, trig, electrical motor controls, programmable controlers, blah, blah, blah,,, the list goes on.
The beauty of the industry is that you do not have to go to school to get the jobs. If you already have a background in electronics, can read a set of schematics, then they (the big companies) will send you to paid specilaized training for a few weeks and voila' you have a job. Most of the trainings that GE sends you to are in Texas or New York. So, you make 20 something an hour instead of 30 something an hour becuase you don't have the certificate,,,
If you have cahonies enough to climb the things and can work up there, they are more than willing to train people within the company. I like working with my hands, I like working outside and it's one heck of a workout!!
But, becasue the demand is so high for technicians, and getting higher, more schools should be offering the program soon, I would think. I know that there are a few schools in the mid-west and east coat that offer the program.
We are pretty fortunate because we live so close to the wind farms and can get OJT. In class we study electricity, hydraulics, gear boxes, physics, computer programming, pre calc, trig, electrical motor controls, programmable controlers, blah, blah, blah,,, the list goes on.
The beauty of the industry is that you do not have to go to school to get the jobs. If you already have a background in electronics, can read a set of schematics, then they (the big companies) will send you to paid specilaized training for a few weeks and voila' you have a job. Most of the trainings that GE sends you to are in Texas or New York. So, you make 20 something an hour instead of 30 something an hour becuase you don't have the certificate,,,
If you have cahonies enough to climb the things and can work up there, they are more than willing to train people within the company. I like working with my hands, I like working outside and it's one heck of a workout!!
Last edited by Snowbunny; 10-14-2007 at 06:50 PM.
#74
Originally Posted by Greywolf
Yeah, I was wondering how those people got up on top of there in the first place - the ones rapelling down it to clean the mast.