Wind turbine blade maintenance is like giving a giant fan a regular check-up. These colossal blades, sometimes longer than a football field, are built to withstand harsh conditions and extreme loads. But just like your car, they need some TLC to keep turning smoothly and producing clean energy.

Routine maintenance is crucial to ensure that blades stay in tip-top shape. The most common issues include leading edge erosion from rain and dust in the air (at full speed the tip is traveling up to 300mph), damage from lightning strikes, defects from the factory, damage from shipping or installing, and cracking from strain cycles & fatigue. Maintenance technicians climb up to the blades (yes, they actually climb the ladder 300+ feet to the top) to perform inspections and repairs. This work can involve everything from fixing minor erosion and cracks to more complicated repairs involving dozens of plies of laminate and spanning several meters.

What’s the job really like? Well, it’s hands-on, high-consequence, and highly rewarding. There’s no feeling quite like bringing a multimillion dollar machine back online.

The wind turbine blade maintenance industry is booming. In addition to more wind farms going up every year, blades have been getting longer and longer, leading to serial defects and a higher demand for highly skilled blade techs to take on more technical repairs than ever before.

So, whether you’re looking to start a career in wind turbine repair or just curious about how those blades keep turning, check us out!