Wind Project in Wyoming Envisions Coal Miners as Trainees -<br />By DIANE CARDWELLMAY 21, 2017<br />Goldwind Americas, an arm of a leading wind-turbine manufacturer based in China, has been expanding its business in the United States.<br />Robert Godby, director of the Center for Energy Economics<br />and Public Policy at the University of Wyoming, said the announcement could lead to a shift in thinking about the potential economic development benefits of wind projects.<br />Now it is trying to extend that policy to an unlikely place: Wyoming, which produces more coal than any other state<br />and has hardly welcomed the march of turbines across the country, even imposing a tax on wind-energy generation.<br />Called Goldwind Works, the program would begin next month with a series of informational meetings in Wyoming<br />and include a safety training and tower climb at a wind farm in Montana.<br />The chief executive, David Halligan, said in a telephone interview<br />that he expected coal workers to have relevant skills, mainly electrical and mechanical, and experience working under difficult conditions.<br />You have to be able to work at heights, and you have to be able to work at heights in a safe manner.”<br />The program could offer a needed boost.<br />On Thursday at an energy conference in Wyoming, the company announced plans for a free<br />training program for one of the nation’s fastest-growing jobs: wind farm technician.
