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Summary Report for:
17-2199.10 - Wind Energy Engineers

Design underground or overhead wind farm collector systems and prepare and develop site specifications.

This title represents an occupation for which data collection is currently underway.

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Tasks  |  Tools & Technology  |  Wages & Employment  |  Additional Information

Tasks

  • Design underground or overhead wind farm collector systems. Green Task Statement
  • Analyze operation of wind farms or wind farm components to determine reliability, performance, and compliance with specifications. Green Task Statement
  • Create models to optimize the layout of wind farm access roads, crane pads, crane paths, collection systems, substations, switchyards, or transmission lines. Green Task Statement
  • Create or maintain wind farm layouts, schematics, or other visual documentation for wind farms. Green Task Statement
  • Develop active control algorithms, electronics, software, electromechanical, or electrohydraulic systems for wind turbines. Green Task Statement
  • Develop specifications for wind technology components, such as gearboxes, blades, generators, frequency converters, and pad transformers. Green Task Statement
  • Direct balance of plant (BOP) construction, generator installation, testing, commissioning, or supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) to ensure compliance with specifications. Green Task Statement
  • Monitor wind farm construction to ensure compliance with regulatory standards or environmental requirements. Green Task Statement
  • Perform root cause analysis on wind turbine tower component failures. Green Task Statement
  • Provide engineering technical support to designers of prototype wind turbines. Green Task Statement

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Tools & Technology

Tools used in this occupation:

Anemometers — Cup anemometers; Propeller anemometers; Recording anemometers
Barometers — Barometric pressure sensors
Radarbased surveillance systems — Light detection and ranging LIDAR systems
Weather stations — Portable meteorological stations
Wind surface observing apparatus — Sonic detection and ranging SODAR equipment; Wind vanes

Technology used in this occupation:

Analytical or scientific software — ANSYS software; SKM Systems Analysis Power Tools; The MathWorks MATLAB; WindSim
Computer aided design CAD software — Autodesk AutoCAD software; Mathsoft Mathcad; PTC Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire; SolidWorks CAD software
Development environment software — Formula translation/translator FORTRAN; Microsoft Visual Basic
Map creation software — ESRI ArcGIS software; Geographic information system GIS software; Global Mapper Software Global Mapper; Google Earth Pro
Object or component oriented development software — C++; Microsoft Visual Basic.NET; Microsoft Visual C# .NET

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Wages & Employment Trends

National

Median wages data collected from Engineers, All Other.
Employment data collected from Engineers, All Other.
Industry data collected from Engineers, All Other.

Median wages (2010) $43.40 hourly, $90,270 annual
Employment (2008) 183,000 employees
Projected growth (2008-2018) Average (7% to 13%) Average (7% to 13%)
Projected job openings (2008-2018) 50,200
Top industries (2008)

State & National

          CareerOneStop

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010 wage data external site and 2008-2018 employment projections external site. "Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2008-2018). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.

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Sources of Additional Information

Disclaimer: Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries. Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.

  • Engineers external site. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition.

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