(Photo 16800093 © Johannes Gerhardus Swanepoel | Dreamstime.com)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge College addressing needs in the wind power industry

Mar 12, 2024 | 11:58 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – “We need a lot more people in the industry so if you’re not afraid of heights, like working in the great outdoors and traveling and learning about new pieces of equipment all the time, this could be the career for you.”

That’s from Ron Papp, instructor in the Wind Turbine Technician program at Lethbridge College.

Papp says the one-year course allows students to learn about wind turbines and how they operate.

He explains, “It’s a combination of mechanics, electrical, hydraulics, computers and millwrighting and heavy-duty mechanics, so it’s quite a combination of skills that actually need to be required to service and construct one of the wind turbines.”

The Lethbridge College course is a ‘pre-employment’ course, with Papp saying, “We take people just right off the street and it’s a one-year long course and at the end of the course, they are qualified to service wind turbines.”

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The local post-secondary hosted a wind turbine open house on March 7, 2024. Papp says it was well attended and, “four people were actually employed in the industry.”

“Employers are actively pursuing people to participate in the industry.”

Papp notes that the program can set students on a start to a strong career path in southern Alberta, with the prevalence of wind and solar power.

He adds, “A lot of companies have 20 to 30-year contracts on these wind turbines. That’s their life expectancy and if you got on to a company that has these wind turbines, you could conceivably work there for 20 to 30 years.”

EXTRACTING ENERGY

Papp explains that the purpose of a wind turbine “is to extract energy from the wind and send it into a form of energy that we can use, and these wind turbines do that by taking that wind energy and converting it into electricity forms.”

“As the blade turns due to the wind going past them, it spins mechanical equipment inside the nacelle (the cover housing of a wind turbine) at the top, which has a generator in it and ultimately that generator makes electricity, which is sent through cables down to the base of the tower and over to our grid system eventually and gets used.”

Lethbridge College’s wind turbine technician lab features various pieces of equipment, including a full-sized 309,000-pound nacelle. Additionally, world-renowned safety training company TEAM-1 Academy makes a visit to campus several times a year to train students and faculty.

Nacelle seen at Lethbridge College (Photo: Otys Potts-Little Mustache, Lethbridge College)

The college’s lab is also used to teach workers from other wind power generation companies. Thanks to the partnership, graduate of the college program earn an internationally recognized certification from the Global Wind Organization (GWO).

Lethbridge lead instructor with TEAM-1 Academy, Chris DeLisle says the certificates are worth nearly $10,000 per student.

He remarks, “This, in addition to the other certificates the program provides, helps make tuition a much better deal than many people realize. It’s the best path for anyone looking to enter the field as it gives students a leg up with industry knowledge and required safety certificates.”

Career options for graduates include working in wind turbine construction, maintenance and manufacturing, as well as working as an apprentice electrician and blade repair technician.

More on the Wind Turbine Technician program is available at the Lethbridge College website.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now.

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