Wind Farm Builder
Take your GWO course, then build a wind farm from the first foundation to handover. Every word you do not know is explained as you go.
How the game maps onto a real build
The order of work
- Training first: GWO Basic Safety Training, then extra courses as your career grows
- Site mobilisation, access roads and crane hardstands
- Foundations: excavation, anchor cage and rebar, the pour, curing, backfill
- Deliveries: call-offs, abnormal-load convoys, offloading to a laydown plan
- Pre-assembly on the ground, then installation by the main crane with bottom and top teams
- Mechanical completion, commissioning, the snag list and the reliability run
- Handover: takeover certificates, then final acceptance of the whole farm
What the game simplifies
- Time is compressed: concrete cures for weeks, not three days, and a reliability run is usually 240 hours.
- Course prices and lengths are typical European figures. Check with a training centre before you book a real one.
- Wind limits are typical values. On a real site they come from the crane’s and the turbine maker’s lift plan.
- Every safety shortcut in the game is a real one people have taken. It does not end well there either.
What you learn by playing
- What GWO Basic Safety Training covers, and why nobody climbs without it
- Every stage of a wind farm build, from crane hardstand and foundation to the takeover certificate
- Who does what on site: bottom and top teams, civils, the crane company, commissioning, the client
- Why wind limits, thunderstorms and 100% tie-off decide the day, whatever the programme says
- What delays really cost: crane standby, waiting trucks and liquidated damages
- Which courses move a wind technician’s career on, and what they are for
Questions
What is Wind Farm Builder?
A free browser game from GoUpTower about building an onshore wind farm. You start at a training centre with your GWO Basic Safety Training, join a build as a trainee technician and follow it through foundations, deliveries, crane lifts, commissioning and handover to the client.
Is it free, and do I need an account?
It is free and needs no download or account. Your progress is saved in your browser; create a free GoUpTower account to keep it on any device.
What will I learn?
How a wind farm is really built and who does what: GWO safety training, the bottom and top teams, crane wind limits, bolting, the snag list, commissioning, and what delays cost. Every technical term has a plain-English explanation.
Which courses and jobs are in the game?
GWO BST, BTT, Bolt Tightening, Slinger Signaller, Advanced Rescue, Enhanced First Aid, Control of Hazardous Energies and Blade Repair, plus IPAF cherry picker, ladder and service lift installation, rope access, HV switching, lift planning, IOSH, NEBOSH and PRINCE2. You rise from trainee technician to project manager.
How realistic is it?
The order of work, the roles, the wind limits and the safety decisions follow real practice. Time is compressed and the costs are round numbers, and the game says so wherever it matters.
Is there a leaderboard?
Yes. Choose a nickname and your career earnings put you on the top-100 leaderboard.
Can teachers and training centres use it?
Yes. It is free to use in class as an introduction to the wind industry, alongside the GoUpTower Education Hub.