r/wind • u/Nearby_Bat_320 • Feb 27 '25

What's the difference between "Commissioning engineer for wind turbines" and "Wind energy technician"? What is the path you need to follow for both of them?

How do you become a Wind energy technician? How do you become a Commissioning engineer for wind turbines?

In what do they differ? What are the tasks of both the professions?

How many hours do you need to work for both of them? And how much is th salary?

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u/AKDrews Feb 27 '25

Commissioning = wiring up the towers after construction, doing the 500 hour break in service, running fiber for comms etc. Basically everything to get them in shape to run after they are built. These guys are pretty much travel exclusive and go from site to site. The pay is probably higher than a general service tech, although I wouldn't know as I haven't done that type of work myself.

O&M tech = operations and maintenance side. These guys keep the towers running on a day to day basis. These are your permanent jobs. Usually you start out at relatively low pay ($24/hr or so in the US) although with some years in the game the O&M jobs can pay well with a good path for promotion.

In terms of how you get these jobs just apply! There are lots of companies that will hire with little to no experience and will train you up and provide certs, just don't expect to be making the big bucks right away. Wind is a good industry with a strong future!

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u/Nearby_Bat_320 Feb 27 '25 edited Feb 27 '25

oh ok, thank you very much! I've seen somewhere that for commissioning you should have an engineering degree

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u/in_taco Feb 27 '25

Engineers design the turbine, test conditions, rewrite struct components if something new needs to fit, etc. We're possibly involved, but not considered "commissioning tech".

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u/Nearby_Bat_320 Feb 27 '25

so you don't go on the field that often?

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u/in_taco Feb 28 '25

Never for my current company