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.
Wind sector dictionary
The acronyms, gear and daily routines you will meet in a job advert, a work order or a toolbox talk, with what each one actually means on site. Type anything — a term, a word from its name, or a word from the explanation.
89 terms
How much electricity a turbine or farm is expected to make in a year, in MWh or GWh.
What you clip to. Certified anchors are marked; on older machines they are not always obvious, and this is where access plans go wrong.
Worn for switching and any live electrical work. Rated in cal/cm², and it must be the outermost layer.
GWO module for rescuing a casualty from places a basic rescue cannot reach — hub, blade, inside the tower.
EU rules for equipment used where an explosive atmosphere may exist. Affects which tools and torches you may carry.
Everything on a wind farm that is not the turbines: cables, substation, roads, foundations.
Looks inside a gearbox or bearing without opening it. Turns a strip-down into a ten-minute check.
The GWO entry-level safety package. Onshore is four modules; offshore adds Sea Survival.
The shortened repeat of BST taken before the two-year certificate expires.
GWO modules covering mechanical, electrical and hydraulic fundamentals. Separate from BST.
The up-front cost of building the farm, as opposed to the cost of running it.
Actual output divided by theoretical maximum output. Onshore is typically 25–40%, offshore 45–60%.
A government-backed price guarantee for the electricity a farm sells. Decides whether projects get built.
Vented, with a chin strap. Not a building-site hard hat — a helmet that falls off at 90 m becomes a dropped object.
Vibration and temperature sensors that predict a bearing or gearbox failure before it happens.
A hub or a blade root is a confined space with its own permit, gas checks and a standby person outside.
Stepping from a moving vessel onto the boat landing while the bow is pushed against it. Timed with the swell, three points of contact.
The fast catamaran that pushes onto the boat landing and puts technicians on the turbine.
Rated for cut and abrasion. Grip rating matters as much as cut level — wet gloves that slip are their own hazard.
The ring between your shoulder blades. Fall arrest only. You cannot reach it yourself, which is the point — nothing can unclip it by accident.
A sweep for anything that could fall from height before and after work — including things a previous crew left.
Operates the lower-voltage network that smaller onshore farms connect into.
The function that owns risk assessments, incident reporting and site rules.
A contract where one company designs, buys and builds the whole project.
Testing a component at the factory before it ships, so faults are found on the ground.
The moment a project is committed to. Before FID, nothing is certain; after it, hiring starts.
The check you do at the work face, on the day, on top of the written risk assessment.
Worn under the hi-vis or over it, it spreads arrest forces across thighs, chest and shoulders and holds you upright afterwards. Everything else clips to it.
Bearing greasing is most of scheduled service. The grade is specified per bearing — mixing greases can destroy one.
The device that rides the ladder safety rail and locks if you fall. Attaches to your sternal ring, and it must be the one matched to that rail.
The industry body whose training standards most wind employers require. Not a training provider itself.
The highest predictable tide level. Platform and boat-landing heights are set from it.
The UK regulator. Also used loosely to mean the health-and-safety function generally.
Above 1000 V AC. Requires specific authorisation and switching procedures — never assume access.
For the large flange bolts in the tower and hub. Works in a defined sequence and pattern; the sequence matters as much as the number.
The cable running turbine to turbine in a string, and on to the substation. 33 kV on farms built up to about 2016, 66 kV on almost everything since — 66 kV carries roughly twice the power per string, so a big-turbine fleet needs far fewer cables.
Offshore only. Keeps you afloat and slows heat loss in the water. You are trained in one during Sea Survival.
The rope-access qualification used for blade repair and external tower work.
A vessel that lowers legs to the seabed and lifts itself clear of the water to install turbines.
The chart datum most offshore water depths are quoted from.
Lifetime cost divided by lifetime output. The number used to compare wind against everything else.
Tape or coating on the blade edge that takes rain and sand erosion instead of the laminate.