New wind turbine maintenance and inspection training standards
New training to improve safety for workers who inspect and maintain wind turbines has been launched by the ECITB following a successful pilot by Hexis.
Designed in response to the statutory equipment inspection and maintenance requirements placed on developers, the new training standards deliver the skills needed to safely and competently perform maintenance and statutory inspection duties in this expanding sector. With the offshore wind industry set to quadruple its generating capacity to 40GW by 2030, including 1GW of floating offshore wind, the safe and effective maintenance of those turbines is of critical importance to meet the UK Government’s net zero target.
To support industry through the energy transition, the ECITB has worked with private training provider Hexis and major offshore wind developers and supply chain companies, including Stowen, Scottish Power Renewables, Vattenfall, Worley, Equinor, SSE, Iberdrola (Scottish Power), Applus, and Petrofrac to create a suite of training standards that will support the safe and effective delivery of wind turbine statutory equipment inspection and maintenance.
Chris Claydon, Chief Executive of the ECITB, says, “The ECITB has extensive experience working in highly regulated, safety critical environments and this training will help ensure technicians work safely and effectively, meeting the legal requirements. With around a quarter of engineering construction companies operating in the renewable energy supply chain, the ECITB has a crucial role to play in developing the skills of the workforce and the thousands of new jobs this investment will create.” Denise Hone, Training Director at Hexis, adds, “Hexis identified this training was needed for the offshore wind sector and we’re proud to have helped develop and to deliver these new ECITB training standards. The ultimate goal is we are raising the competencies and reducing the risks to ensure the level of personnel going out to certify offshore equipment have been trained at an accredited level.”
The pilot, which took place at East Coast College in Lowestoft, saw eight delegates from Equinor, SSE, Stowen, Worley, Applus, Windhoist, and East Coast College take the assessed course which covers all aspects of inspection and maintenance of wind turbine statutory equipment.