![42 Blades [Photo by The James Kendall] (CC BY-SA 3.0)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2556/3859686860_e88b397b0d.jpg)
Availon United Wind Service is a German-owned entity that has set up a North American operation to staff up to 50 workers to monitor and service wind turbines on wind farms all over the US. These technicians are the equivalent of computer IT workers, except that they perform their work high above the ground on the nacelles of the wind turbines
Inside one of the boxlike nacelles, they perform tests on the turbine’s electronic systems to make sure it can receive the information from its weather vane, pitch the blades properly and turn the turbine in the right direction to catch the wind for maximum effect. They also perform routine inspections and maintenance of each turbine’s generator, which is designed to spin 78 times for each rotation of the blades. Technicians also occasional venture outside the nacelle to inspect and repair the connections to the blades.
Jobs at a Wind Farm http://t.co/hJsv9Z5 #socent