Working Families supports alternative energy jobs

This Article from CBC News, The Canadian Press, December 22, 2017

The winds of change are pushing Mark Kokas in a new career direction. Nearly two years after being laid off as an electrician in Alberta’s flailing oil and gas sector, the 42-year-old is training to become a wind turbine technician.

“It is tough to find work right now. It’s not like it was before,” said Kokas in a class at Lethbridge College, one of two institutions in Western Canada that offers training and the only one with a one-year certificate program.

“Oil and gas used to be our bread and butter, but it isn’t anymore. There’s going to be a really hard push now to get people trained where the industry wants them to be,” he said. “It’s been an eye-opener going into a different industry. There’s more than oil and gas. It’s pretty cool.”

Inside the training tower used by the Lethbridge College Wind Turbine Technician program. The program warns potential students, “Those afraid of heights need not apply.” The one-year course to become a wind turbine technician comes with a warning label on the college website: “Those afraid of heights need not apply.”

“Most don’t have a warning label. We do. Our students end up working in an office 300 feet in the air, so obviously safety is a big priority,” said instructor Chris DeLisle. “We need to make sure you’re not scared of heights.”

DeLisle said that with the downturn in the oil and gas sector, alternative energy sources such as wind are a natural fit for many who are laid off. About four out of the 16 people in his class have worked in the oil sector in some capacity, he said. “With Alberta looking to kind of lead the rest of the country now into renewable energy, wind is … at the forefront, so it’s going to be around for a while.”

Instructor Chris DeLisle works with student Mark Kokas on a simulator during a class. Kokas was laid off nearly two years ago from his job as an electrician in Alberta’s oil and gas sector. Wind power is eliciting optimism at a time when Canada is trying to reduce its carbon footprint.

With their giant 80-metre-high turbines stretching as far as the eye can see and 45-metre-long blades turning gracefully in the breeze, wind farms in areas including southern Alberta are becoming more common.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association estimates that if Alberta were to use wind energy to fulfil a commitment to add 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030, it would generate $8.3 billion in investment along with employment.

“I only wish I was laid off earlier, so I could have started earlier and I could already be working,” said Kokas. “There shouldn’t be an issue of getting a job at the end of this class.”

DeLisle said the course includes a lot of electrical training, as well as how to repair fibreglass windmill blades and learning the inner workings of the turbine itself.

Student Ryan Hanna, pictured with class dummy Rescue Randy, checks his safety equipment during a class at the Lethbridge College Wind Turbine Technician program. It also involves plenty of safety work using a life-sized dummy that DeLisle calls Rescue Randy. “Yeah, that’s one of our former students that didn’t make it through the program,” he said with a laugh. “We use him for all the different rescue scenarios. If somebody was to get hurt inside the hub, they need to bring them out and bring them to the ground. It’s a mock-up for rescues.”

Oscar Diaz-Kennedy has spent the last few years landscaping and working on construction projects. At 24, he said he can see which way the wind is blowing. “I’ve just seen how the world is going and how Alberta is changing from oilfields going to renewable energy,” Diaz-Kennedy said. “I decided I wanted to be ahead of the loop a little bit.”

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WV — JOBS, JOBS, JOBS — Panel Presentation on Renewable Energy & Jobs

Working Families — West Virginia — Thursday, January 3rd, 6:00 PM
Location: Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 152, 100 Richard Avenue, Morgantown

Panel Members — Evan Hansen, Delegate – Elect, WV Legislature
>> Doyle Tenney, DT Solar LLC, French Creek, WV
>> Shane Ferguson, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Lake Lynn Dam on Cheat Lake on WV - PA State Line is operated by Cube Hydro Partners

Denver, CO — GE Renewable Energy and Cube Hydro Partners today announced that they have entered into an agreement to provide three aerating turbines for the High Rock plant in North Carolina. The first of three 13.4 MW units will be delivered in the fall of 2018 and become operational in the spring of 2019.

The aerating turbine developed by GE Renewable Energy’s Hydro Solutions business provides a unique environmental benefit for fish and other aquatic wildlife downstream of hydroelectric power plants by increasing the amount of oxygen in the rivers. This benefit is achieved by drawing air into the turbine. The oxygen in the air is transferred to the water and increases the dissolved oxygen levels downstream of the river.

GE Hydro Solutions’s advanced R&D program on dissolved oxygen enhancement technologies is part of a GE Renewable Energy global R&D network for hydro research and aligned with GE’s company-wide Global Research organization that includes 5 research facilities and 2,000 PhDs, scientists and engineers around the world who span multiple industry sectors. GE executives said they are enthusiastic about broader opportunities to address the large market for aerating turbines.

>>> Pierre Marx, North America Leader for GE’s Hydro Solutions said “This is an important contract for us because it will tangibly demonstrate our ability to supply this technology to an ever increasing, important U.S. market segment. We are delighted to be able to offer this product to Cube Hydro and our other customers, ensuring that the US market has access to the latest technology to address the dissolved oxygen challenge.”

>>> Kristina Johnson, Cube Hydro Partners’s Chief Executive Officer said “Partnerships such as the one announced today are aimed at providing the highest quality equipment and service at the least possible cost, thus demonstrating that renewable energy is both affordable and good for the economy. Based on a comprehensive review of GE’s aerating runner technology, we are excited about the environmental benefits this solution brings to the Yadkin River System.”

NOTE: The Lake Lynn Hydropower Dam on Cheat Lake near Morgantown, WV, is the largest project of Cube Hydro Partners at 52 megawatts. See the image above for details. Also for timely information: http://cheatlake.today

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About GE Renewable Energy:
GE Renewable Energy is a $10 billion start-up that brings together one of the broadest product and service portfolios of the renewable energy industry. Combining onshore and offshore wind, hydro and innovative technologies such as concentrated solar power and more recently turbine blades, GE Renewable Energy has installed more than 400+ gigawatts capacity globally to make the world work better and cleaner. With more than 22,000 employees present in more than 55 countries, GE Renewable Energy is backed by the resources of the world’s first digital industrial company. Our goal is to demonstrate to the rest of the world that nobody should ever have to choose between affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.

Follow GE Renewable Energy on: www.gerenewableenergy.com.

About Cube Hydro Partners:
Cube Hydro, a portfolio company of I Squared Capital Advisors (US) LLC, is a hydropower development and operating platform targeting investments in mid-sized greenfield and operating hydro projects in North Americas. Cube Hydro and its affiliates own and operate 19 hydropower plants on ten rivers in five states with a combined capacity of more than 374 megawatts, generating 1.4 million megawatt-hours annually, or enough electricity to power approximately 140,000 homes with renewable energy.