A team of specialist engineers are earning a reputation as the \u2018AA of the wind industry\u2019 having completed some significant major component exchanges on large scale wind turbines.<\/p>\n
RES\u2019 O&M team in Letterkenny can count some of the largest utility companies and renewable fund managers among their client-base, with their small core team of just six people servicing turbines across Ireland and UK with additional site-based technicians performing routine maintenance across sites in both countries.<\/p>\n
Now looking to expand their operations as the fleet of onshore wind turbines continues to grow, the team leader, Brian McDaid, said the job certainly gives his employees a unique perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe turbines we climb tend to be over 100m,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he said.\u00a0\u201cWhilst this makes for a challenging work environment, some of the views are absolutely spectacular \u2013 and that alone can make the job one of the best in the world.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cOn occasion, on those cool, still days, I\u2019ve even climbed above the clouds on a turbine. It\u2019s a stunning sight.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n And the job itself is one that keeps on changing. As well as servicing and repairing crucial components inside each of the multiple turbines they will service per year, the team has completed many complex lifting operations \u2013 all of which requires huge cranes to fit or replace crucial components.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mind does boggle sometimes at the scale of what we do. For example, if we have to fit a blade, we will take deliveries from across Europe. On some occasion the cranes required are so large they have to be transported in sections and built on site \u2013 making it a really interesting engineering challenge.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Employing engineers across a range of expertise, the Donegal team are now looking to expand their horizons even further, by securing contracts with new clients firmly in their sights.<\/p>\n Brian, who has worked in the wind industry for 18 years and has seen countless changes in the sector, said:\u00a0\u201cI suppose the biggest change has been the size of the turbines. When I started, you were looking at 500kW turbines. Now you\u2019re talking commonly about 2.5 – 5 MW and upwards of 8 MW in the near future \u2013 proper, utility scale machines. The advances have been huge.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Even accessing these majestic machines has seen a revolution.<\/p>\n \u201cIt used to just be steps and ladders, which kept me fit,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>he said.\u00a0\u201cNow though, in the newer turbines you have climbing assists and elevators.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s not all plain sailing to the top though.<\/p>\n \u201cThey stop 20m from the top. It\u2019s so disappointing!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n With a burgeoning calendar of maintenance, repairs and travel already scheduled for 2020, Brian says the team\u2019s growing reputation in renewables servicing can only be good for the area.<\/p>\n \u201cFor somewhere like here \u2013 where we\u2019re quite rural \u2013 having such a successful service operation is great for jobs. We employ people across a wide range of ages, from 20s upwards, and the skills and experience you gather makes this one of the best jobs in wind,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0said Brian.<\/p>\n \u201cWith renewable energy becoming more mainstream and real growth industry, wind and solar should be a great employer for years to come.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A team of specialist engineers are earning a reputation as the \u2018AA of the wind industry\u2019 having completed some significant major component exchanges on large scale wind turbines. RES\u2019 O&M team in Letterkenny can count some of the largest utility companies and renewable fund managers among their client-base, with their…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[313],"tags":[],"region":[276],"content_type":[235],"class_list":["post-15435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-om-de","region-uki-de","content_type-news-de"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n