CLIMBING HIGH FOR WIND

Rise of Wind Turbines Is a Boon for Rope Workers
Kate Galbraith, December 24, 2009 (NY Times)

"…Rope specialists like [Matt Touchette and Sequoia Haughey] have long filled a range of niche jobs, like inspecting big dams, cleaning Mount Rushmore and repairing offshore oil platforms. But as wind farms have sprouted across the nation, rope companies have quickly expanded into a new line of work — fixing turbines so they last longer in the elements…It’s a dream job for rock-climbing types…

"The jobs these days involve inspecting turbines, cleaning them and repairing them, which becomes necessary if a blade is struck by lightning or damaged by ice. The blades are made of fiberglass, and repair jobs may involve taking out the old fiberglass and putting in new material, which then needs to be sanded down for smoothness…At least a handful of small rope companies now work on turbines. Some, like East River Rigging of Brooklyn, are new and do regional rope work of all kinds. Others, like Skala of Reno, Nev., are longtime rope specialists that moved into wind-turbine work when the boom began several years ago…"

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"Starting a rope company is not easy. Turbine owners and manufacturers generally demand to see an established safety record. Liability and workers’ compensation insurance can be hard to get, and climbers typically need a certain level of certification from the Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians, a trade group, before they are allowed to work on the turbines…Igor Stomp, chairman of the communications committee at the society, estimated that the cost of a basic one-day job by two climbers might start at $2,000 — and rise substantially for harder tasks…

"Even on the job, the workers sometimes cannot get enough of the ropes…[and use inclement weather to try new climbs]…On fair weather days, [they first]…make sure the turbine [is] turned off, so it [does] not spin while they [are] on it, a potentially deadly proposition. [On a recent job] they carefully organized their gear for the day — mixing chemicals to create a gel coating to treat the blades, assembling snacks and suiting up in helmets and ropes…After vanishing up the tower, the two climbers appeared as tiny specks at the top of the turbine. Each was secured to the top by two ropes. They let themselves slowly down the blade, which was pointed toward the ground, and got to work. An orange extension cord, over 150 feet long, accompanied them, to power the sander."

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"Some 300 certified rope specialists like them — or rope access technicians — work on turbines in North America, and that number may triple in three years…[D]emand is so acute that… rope company WindSwain, has an eight-week waiting list…[N]o rope expert has been killed or seriously injured on wind turbines. The method is safer and generally cheaper, rope advocates argue, than alternatives like using a crane or a skybucket.

"There are dangers, however. This year, a turbine technician for Skala was high up on a turbine when the blade — whose pitch angle was being adjusted with the aid of one of the manufacturers’ technicians — shifted in an unexpected way…No one was hurt…[but the climbers’] company complained to the manufacturer…Standard industrial accidents do happen [and]…Workers sometimes drop small untethered items, like bolts…"