I often drive up the Pennsylvania Turnpike-Northeast Extension (I-476) and North on I-81 at Clarks Summit when traveling to Oneonta, New York (central NYS or “upstate” to those that live anywhere South of Poughkeepsie!). It is very common to see numerous tractor trailer trucks and flat beds pass you by with the “wide load” safety cars or trucks alongside on this route. On one of my travels a flatbed truck passed me, nothing usual I thought to myself, until I looked over again and the truck was STILL passing me. That was the longest truck I had ever seen transporting something on the road! I thought maybe it was an airplane wing being so long and light gray metallic but the shape was not truly that of an airplane. One end was round and then it smoothed and flattened out into an airplane wing shape. What could it possibly have been?

While I kept both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road (who knew what wind force a truck that size might have created on the winding hills of Northern PA) I glanced out the windshield as it continued to pass me. I racked my brain on what else it could possibly be. About five minutes later an identical truck passed by with the same exact cargo and a third truck shortly after. The fourth flatbed that passed me in this sequence looked like what could have been a space ship! I would describe it as large silvery dome like the nose of an airplane with Medusa-hair looking flexible conduits.

Have you guessed what it was yet? They were all parts of a wind turbine! I realized this after seeing pictures and reading a few articles about wind energy and wind farms in Electrical Wholesaling. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that President Barack Obama granted (aka the stimulus package) provides a number of incentives for investing in alternative energy including tax credits for wind energy production and for the manufacturers.

One of the articles wrote about the rise in demand for specifically skilled workers. Ages from high school graduates on up are studying to be a wind turbine technician. Electricians are getting on the job training and attending vendor workshops and safety lessons to get up to speed on being wind electricians. The environment and work schedules are different than usual for electricians such as temperature, height and wind (obviously) as well as working with hydraulics, lubrication and mechanical equipment. I found these articles interesting to read and to learn about wind turbine technicians and electricians, especially after seeing parts of one up close on the road!

Promoting energy efficiency and creating exciting job opportunities gives a great sense of accomplishment and support during the current economic condition. You may just want to research if your land qualifies for a wind turbine and what’s involved to do so. Or explore the training and schooling options to be part of wind farm building projects! To increase efficiency and see what different types of savings in your company are possible contact us and see what we can do for you!
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Tina Lamanna

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