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Taylor Hays grew up watching her father fix wind turbines. She didn鈥檛 consider herself to be very mechanical. But she knew she wanted to work with her hands.
So she decided to follow in her father鈥檚 footsteps. Hays is studying at in southeast Washington to repair renewable energy equipment, like wind turbines.
鈥淭his is my first wind application class, so I鈥檓 kind of excited because we haven鈥檛 been able to work with actual wind turbine equipment yet,鈥� Hays said, standing in a large room filled with mechanical equipment.
As a potential second-generation wind technician, Hays said she鈥檚 ready to be part of an industry that鈥檚 helping develop technology that will reduce fossil fuel dependence.
鈥淚t makes me wonder, 鈥榃ill I be a big part of this whole change? Will I help develop new technologies and all of that?鈥� It鈥檚 exciting to think about,鈥� she said.
The four students in this class huddle around a computer. Hays reads instructions from a large workbook. Various parts of a wind turbine hang from the wall in front of them.
They punch commands into the computer, and the equipment whirs to life, rotating this way and that.
鈥淚n this case, we鈥檙e making things go wrong on purpose so that we can practice fixing them,鈥� Hays said.
贵颈虫颈苍驳听罢耻谤产颈苍别蝉
Down the road in Pasco, Washington, H&N Electric is in the business of fixing things that go wrong inside the turbines.
Inside the company鈥檚 shop, machinist Mike Byrd has a broken piece of equipment suspended on a hook. It鈥檚 an essential part of the wind turbine generator called a slip ring.
鈥淭hese are one of the pieces of the generator that are designed that they wear out. And so we鈥檒l exchange them out for a one that鈥檚 in good shape,鈥� Byrd said.
Evan Taylor, left, and Taylor Hays are studying at Walla Walla Community College to work in the renewable energy field. In this class, they鈥檙e purposefully causing problems with wind turbine equipment so that they can learn how to fix it. CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT/NWPB
Several of these heavy pieces of equipment sit next to his workstation. This particular piece he鈥檚 working on is damaged beyond repair.
鈥淭his one鈥檚 junk now. So I鈥檒l put it in our recycling bin and it鈥檒l get recycled,鈥� he said.
Nate Glessner, manager of H&N Electric鈥檚 Pasco plant, used to work as a wind technician in the early 1990s. Now, he says, he鈥檚 seeing more wind turbine generators break down before they are 5 years old. That鈥檚 way earlier than their expected 20-year lifespan.
鈥淎 lot of the manufacturers had to produce a huge volume of equipment to meet the demands of the market. And the wind when market has grown very rapidly. So basically lot there is a lot of design issues,鈥� Glessner said.
The says wind power is set to outpace hydropower this year.
In the mechanical shop at H&N Electric in Pasco, Washington, Mike Byrd works on an essential part of a wind turbine generator. CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT/NWPB
Glessner said he鈥檚 only seeing design issues getting worse.
In the Northwest, some of the oldest wind farms were built in the early 2000s. When the turbines get too old, wind farm owners can either upgrade to newer technology or shut down the farms. Those processes are called re-powering or decommissioning, respectively.
In Oregon, the oldest wind project under state jurisdiction is requesting to re-power its turbines. The began operating in Umatilla County in 2001. The re-powering would increase the turbine height so that the farm can generate more energy.
The is expected to make a decision on the re-power request Friday, May 17.
In the U.S., old turbine blades usually end up in the landfill. About 22,000 pounds each. Three blades per turbine.
A New Way To聽Recycle
Washington State University professor Karl Englund hopes to prevent that. He鈥檚 helped develop a new recycling process for the fiberglass blades.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e difficult material to handle, and there is not a clearcut path to say, 鈥楾his is really easy. We can recycle this,鈥欌�� England said.
Englund is working with Global Fiberglass Solutions, which is based in Bothell, Washington. The company has built a blade recycling plant in West Texas. It should be up and running by 2020.
To recycle the blades, the plant breaks them down into quarter-inch pieces or smaller. Eventually, those chunks are turned into plastic pellets or panels similar to particleboard. Unlike wood, the fiberglass panels are water resistant.
鈥淪o that has some very unique attributes of being able to go where wood falls short. That goes into places where there鈥檚 high humidity water where fungi and deterioration and swelling occur with wood,鈥� Englund said.
Eventually, the company hopes to recycle other fiberglass products 鈥� like boats and airplanes.
They鈥檙e also planning to expand across the globe. Right now, they鈥檙e in talks to build a plant in the Midwest and, one day, in China and Europe.
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