What the work actually
looks like
A wind turbine technician climbs a hundred metres of steel, works inside a machine the size of a bus, and keeps it turning. Built for newcomers, students and technical schools — everything here is interactive, so tap anything to find out what it is.
How big is a wind turbine?
Numbers on a spec sheet do not tell you much until you stand under one. Pick a machine and it is drawn to scale against things you already know the size of — every object below shares one scale, so the comparison is honest.
Tip height is hub height plus half the rotor — the number that decides the climb, the crane and the rescue plan. Hub height is configurable on most onshore machines, so these are typical builds rather than the only ones.
Carbon displaced, per year
—
tonnes of CO2
Reference heights
- Cologne Cathedral 157 m
- Great Pyramid of Giza 139 m
- Football pitch (length) 105 m
- Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) 96 m
- Statue of Liberty (to torch) 93 m
- Airbus A380 (wingspan) 79.8 m
- Leaning Tower of Pisa 56 m
- Articulated lorry (length) 16.5 m
- Two-storey house 9 m
- Family car (length) 4.5 m
Carbon figures assume a grid at 250 g CO2/kWh being displaced and 11 g/kWh for wind over its own lifecycle, at a 30% capacity factor onshore and 50% offshore. Rounded, and meant for a sense of scale rather than accounting.
Thinking about starting?
Everyone doing this job began with a GWO Basic Safety Training course and a first site. Find a training centre, then keep every certificate in one place from day one.