This wind turbine manufacturer puts unemployed coal miners to work
Workers in fossil fuel industries often find it hard to make the transition to clean energy. As coal miners find themselves without a job, one wind turbine manufacturer wants to give them a place to work in clean industries through a free jobs training program, according to Inhabitat.
Goldwind Americas, the United States branch of a major Chinese company wants to offer Wyoming coal miners that are out of work new jobs as technicians. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, wind turbine service technicians is the fastest growing occupation in America, the median pay being $52,260 a year in 2016. Some of these jobs might be ideal for skilled laborers who are no longer employed in the fossil fuel industry.
The training initiative, Goldwind Gorks, might produce workers for a huge wind farm they’re building in the state, where they are set to supply up to 850 turbines. After they’re built, up to 200 workers will be needed to maintain the wind farm. Goldwind Works will start next month and will include informational meetings, a tower climb and safety training at a Montana wind farm.
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“If we can tap into that market and also help out folks that might be experiencing some challenges in the work force today, I think that it can be a win-win situation,” said David Halligan, the CEO of Goldwind Americas.
There’s no other state in America that produces more coal than Wyoming. Despite this, hundreds of coal miners lost their jobs in the state in 2016. The hope for those unemployed miners now lies within the wind industry.
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