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.
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Wages & Employment | Additional Information
Tasks
- Design underground or overhead wind farm collector systems.
- Analyze operation of wind farms or wind farm components to determine reliability, performance, and compliance with specifications.
- Create models to optimize the layout of wind farm access roads, crane pads, crane paths, collection systems, substations, switchyards, or transmission lines.
- Create or maintain wind farm layouts, schematics, or other visual documentation for wind farms.
- Develop active control algorithms, electronics, software, electromechanical, or electrohydraulic systems for wind turbines.
- Develop specifications for wind technology components, such as gearboxes, blades, generators, frequency converters, and pad transformers.
- Direct balance of plant (BOP) construction, generator installation, testing, commissioning, or supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) to ensure compliance with specifications.
- Monitor wind farm construction to ensure compliance with regulatory standards or environmental requirements.
- Perform root cause analysis on wind turbine tower component failures.
- Provide engineering technical support to designers of prototype wind turbines.
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 |
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%)
|
| Projected job openings (2008-2018) | 50,200 |
| Top industries (2008) |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010 wage data
and 2008-2018 employment projections
.
"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.
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
. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition.