Warren Air Force Base, local college bring wind energy to base

Published March 9, 2012
By 2nd Lt. Stacey Fenton
90th Missile Wing public affairs

F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- F. E. Warren Air Force Base has teamed up with the local community college to keep the base's three wind turbines operational.

Warren has contracted the maintenance of the turbines to Laramie County Community College's Wind Energy Technology program. LCCC began performing maintenance in May 2011.

The students perform preventative maintenance on the turbines including cleaning; checking oil levels; lubricating parts; working on electrical components; or any other necessary adjustments which arise. They perform all the maintenance with supervision from the instructors. Students also get the chance to practice climbing the turbines, and are evaluated on rescue techniques they learn in the lab at LCCC.

"We have a one-of-a-kind lab here at LCCC, but having the chance to perform maintenance on real turbines gives our students a leg-up when they are looking for jobs," said Christian Winger, LCCC Wind Energy Technology lead instructor.

Winger said there are between 80 and 90 wind energy programs at schools around the country, but this is the first-ever partnership between a school and a wind farm.

"We take the students out to climb the turbines within their first two weeks of the program," said John Lamorie, LCCC Wind Energy Technology program director. "Having real-world experience early on allows them to decide if this is something they really want to do."

The students' visits to Warren are based on their course schedule and the maintenance needs of the turbines.

Tom Gonzales, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron chief of logistics, said Warren has two types and sizes of turbines, which made it difficult to find a contractor who could perform maintenance on all of them. He said contracting the school to perform maintenance provides a solution for the base, and the students gain even more experience by being exposed to the different types of turbines.

"This is a 'win-win' situation: it provides cost-effective maintenance for the base, and great benefits for our local community," said Gonzales. "We feel like we are helping give Wyoming students an advantage over other wind turbine technicians out there."

Warren is currently the only Air Force base utilizing wind turbines.

Tech. Sgt. William Shepherd II, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron contracting officer representative, said the students have been involved in some key projects on the turbines, including a blade change and a major gearbox replacement. He said the school was also responsible for rebuilding three Vestas Rotor Current Controller units, saving the Air Force about $21,000.
"The students and instructors from LCCC are the experts on the turbines, and we're the experts on the contract itself," said Shepherd. "We make sure they have everything they need to do the job, and they make sure the job gets done."

Lamorie said the program limits entry to about 20 students per semester. He said about 50 percent of the students make it through the entire two-year program, but 100 percent of those who finish are offered jobs when they graduate.

"The hands-on experience here is something students at other schools don't get, and it makes them very competitive," said Winger.