In addition to generating substantial amounts of electricity, the construction of wind farms can also generate substantial employment opportunities for union building trades workers. On projects similar in size to the South Chestnut Wind Farm, approximately 25,000 man hours will be needed, or about 100 craftsmen for six months.

Attaching and installing the turbines and erecting the towers are largely the work of operating engineers, ironworkers, millwrights and electricians, but there is much more involved in creating a wind farm that requires the work of laborers and other crafts.

“It is extremely challenging,” said Mr. Casteel, “and the logistics can be a nightmare, particularly in hilly terrain such as we have here in western Pennsylvania.”

Among the many challenges is locating enough hilltops where a constant wind can be sustained. In most cases, that meansbuilding new roads and other rights-of-way to the sites. It also means building new substations and erecting utility poles to collect electricity from the wind turbines and transport it to the substation and the electrical grid.

Todd Casteel, President of WR Casteel (right), and Foreman John Keith survey work being done to build a new substation for energy collected from the South Chestnut Wind Farm in Fayette County.

“The hardest and longest work is often the preparation and logistics that go along with building the sites for the turbines and moving in the necessary equipment and materials,” Mr. Casteel said. “Many of these turbines stand more than 260 feet high (80 meters) with three fiberglass blades from 90 to 120 feet each. Their installation and maintenance requires special skills and training, and a great awareness for safety—something that is strongly enforced and practiced by union building trades workers.



It’s lonely at the top for an ironworker erecting a wind turbine tower more than 260 feet in the air.

“It takes a special kind of person to work at the required heights under less than ideal conditions. After all, we are not installing these wind turbines in areas shielded from the elements. In fact, just the opposite is true.”

Most environmentalists and contractors like Todd Casteel see great potential for wind power and believe wind farms will be increasing in Pennsylvania and other eastern states due to their environmental benefits and the growing demand for electricity from alternative energy sources. While these new fashioned wind turbine towers look nothing like their distant cousin wind mills, they have their own place in the evolution of technology and the use of natural resources for power. It’s another component of the type of green building in which union building trades workers are becoming increasingly skilled and proficient.