The Bobby Bones Show - Episode 4: Winds of Change

Episode Date: June 2, 2020

Wind turbines have changed the way our country operates and are only becoming more popular – creating highly skilled jobs along the way. In this episode, we talk to skilled technician Jim Slicer as he maintains turbines along the southern coast.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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This season, we're speaking with folks who are finding their professional stride in a tumultuous job market and learning how to double down on their skills and their experience to overcome challenges. We'll bring you inspiring stories of people making themselves essential, an important skill set in any economy. While millions of jobs have been put on hold in the wake of COVID-19, many jobs in the energy sector have remained. All over the planet, there are people on the ground who continue to work day in and day out to make sure that the world keeps running.

I spoke to one of those workers in Vermont, where wind turbines line the mountainsides and power homes all across the state. Okay, opening video from a GoPro. We were in a machine room. Going up a ladder. Usually when I've interviewed people about their work, I get to go on site and talk to them in their environment.

But since the pandemic was in full swing, I got to see this environment through a GoPro video. Oh, wow. Wow. Okay, we are on top of the turban. Hoking in a harness. I will say I am pretty happy to not be recording on top of a wind turbine that is literally above the clouds in this video. Oh my God.

My stomach just got queasy. He's looking down the turbine and the clouds are passing under beneath. Oh my God. I feel like for people who haven't like walked up to a turbine, you don't realize how big they are. That's the first thing you get for everybody. The first thing you get from the highway, it's like, well, that highway is a few miles away.

This is Jim. Jim Slicer, site manager for the East Sheffield Wind Farm and Sheffield, Vermont. In case you're unfamiliar, the wind turbines, Jim overseas are the tall white turbines you might have seen along a coastline or in a valley. Jim oversees 16 turbines in the rural town of Sheffield, Vermont, not far from the Canadian border. How tall are the turbines that you work on? So the tower height is an 80 meter tower.

So about 270 feet. Yeah. And then when you have a blade that's pointing straight up, the tip of that blade's about 425 feet. Wow. And in order to do maintenance, you're going right up to the top. Correct. Oh, you can see the other turbines. Wow.

They're just poking above the clouds. It's just clouds and then these big white turbines spinning in the distance. They're really majestic. They are. They are. I think they're beautiful. I mean, a lot of people to say, you know,

it's ruined the view of Vermont, it's viewing the landscape. And I get more people to come up here and say, oh, I just think they're beautiful. I love looking up at them. I think they're great. That is absolutely crazy. You know, here we have 16 turbines.

We make 40 megawatts, which is enough for 14 to 16,000 homes. Pretty much generating enough power of the entire northeast kingdom of Vermont. You know, from basically just a few acres of land. that have been used. The way a wind turbine works is pretty simple. The wind blows, the three rotor blade spin, and that gets converted into electricity.

Oh, yeah, and like that 10-mile-hour wind, these things are making power. And by 20 to 25-mile-in-hour winds, they're max producing. Clean renewable energy has definitely been politicized over the years. There are plenty of people who say that moving towards green energy like wind and solar is taking away jobs from work in fossil fuels. But in reality, it's just, just opening up a whole new workforce. It's one of the fastest growing careers out there. And the great thing for it is it's a blue collar job.

Person doesn't have to have a college degree. You have mechanical or electrical knowledge or background or anything like that. You can get your foot in the door and perform this job. I asked Jim what a standard workday looks for him. But he says that that's not really a thing for this job. And that's one of the things I like about this job. It's never the same job every day. You're not going in, punching the car, and doing the exact same thing.

Jim has a team of three people. And besides maintenance on anything the 16 individual turbines need, their tasks change fundamentally based on Vermont's intense seasons. All this to say that when you're working a job that depends on the weather, it really keeps you on your toes. Standard isn't really a word. Jim grew up in Crasbury, Vermont. He was an outdoorsy kid.

He had a very similar upbringing to my own in Vermont, fishing, riding bikes all summer with friends. He played a lot of sports. He later ended up joining the military and went into the Air Force doing flight testing. Developing and testing our nation's bombers and their weapons. Wow, that's wild. Do you have a favorite plane? I guess I still just say my love is the B-1 bomber. I spend a lot of time with that one. It's quite a magnificent beast.

After the military, he worked for different contractors. He did radar operation and testing for special ops aircrafts. And then he did a stint at Boeing in California. He was living in Tachby, where there are thousands of, of wind turbines, and it really piqued his interest. Definitely, I'm 100% of a believer of renewable energy. You know, we need to get away from fossil fuels, not just, you know, wind turbines, but solar, hydro, all those things.

I think it's a really neat thing. And then, you know, to work 300 feet off the ground and generate this power just from the wind. Still, he kept working on planes. He and his wife eventually moved back to Vermont, where he was working at the Burlington Airport as a technician. But three years in, he saw that a wind farm was being built in nearby Sheffield and was looking for good techs. So after 25 years of working in aviation, he decided to weigh his options. It was pretty comparable and I hope I'm not scared

of heights. I hadn't been before it. So I guess I'll find out when I started doing this. So I made the jump at 42 years of age. More in Jim's story after the break. Strong work ethic takes pride in a job well done. Sweats over the details. This is the kind of person you need. Express employment professionals can help. Finding the best people requires more than sorting through applications. You need to conduct a thorough search. Express understands what it takes to hire the right person.

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Go to Expresspros.com to find a location near you. Jim became site manager for the Sheffield Wind Farm in 2014. He loved showing off the site, giving tours to schools and tourists. He especially likes explaining everything the farm office. offers to people critical of green energy or people who might think that the turbines detract from the landscape. The majority of the people that you take up there are usually 50-50 on the fence. They're not really sure.

Do I like these or do I not like these? Probably the part of like best is when you see that light bulb finally click on, they're like, oh, I get it. Yes, these make a lot of sense. I really like these. In rural communities like this all over the country, wind energy has been insanely beneficial over the, over the last few decades. Jim and I both grew up in communities like Sheffield, where a lot of

multi-generational farms are doing everything they can to hold on in a rapidly developing world. There's a lot of hesitation to give up and sell land to developers and places like this because a lot of times that means giving up cultural values and making way for newcomers who don't really care about the area. Wind turbines have been popping up all over these rural communities and allowing for economical development without all the unwanted change that usually comes with it. Farmers who have ample land can invest in a wind turbine that won't interfere with their crops and will be a consistent source of income that they can use or sell. Some farmers can even make up to $15,000 to $20,000 a year off of one turbine,

precious capital that they wouldn't otherwise have. Schools have huge tax incentives to host wind turbines, allowing them to upgrade facilities and get kids the resources that they need. And in rural communities like this, where those are specifically the problems that hit the hardest, wind energy is often a perfect solution that will keep on giving as long as the wind keeps blowing. As towns like Sheffield get on board with wind energy all over the U.S., the growth of this industry continues to be a major job creator. Right now, over 120,000 workers now have wind-powered careers.

And with more turbines being built, that means more factory work to build them. All this rapid development has made the occupation of wind turbine technician one of the two fastest growing jobs in the entire U.S., along with solar installer. On top of that, America's veterans play an important role in creating this highly skilled workforce. The U.S. wind industry employs veterans at a rate 61% above the national average, providing good opportunities for men and women who serve our country when they leave active duty. All this to say, wind energy has proven a stable source of prosperity in places that tend to get left behind as the world moves forward. As one farming couple in Washington State said about their turbines, as long as they're turning, we're earning. For Jim, the wind farm in Sheffield not only accomplishes all of this, but it also creates a sort of modern ecosystem between locals and wildlife.

The entire property is a protected bear habitat. So we have wildlife up here. We have bears. We have moose, we have deer, we have everything up here. And, you know, it's like a park. The town also gets paid a lot of money each year to host the wind farm. That money goes a long way in getting resources the town really needs, like equipment for fixing roads and power lines.

These 16 wind turbines do all this while cooperating with the natural landscape that has long defined the culture here. I'm proud of what we do. It's a good feeling. For us, Rowlington, Vermont is 100% renewable to the city. And the power we produce here, they actually purchased power from us. So we're part of that renewable portfolio that they have to have the bragging rights to have their city be 100% renewable. Not only did Burlington, Vermont reach its goal of being 100% renewable in 2014,

but it was the first city in the entire United States to do so. Jim gets to be a part of that. And talking to Jim, that's the feeling you get, that not only does he get to do a job that pays well, a job that he's great at, but it's also a job that sincerely contributes to a more sustainable future. Do you like your job? I love it. Yeah, I really do.

I think it's different every day. Yeah, some days you're like, oh my gosh, it's 4 o'clock already. I guess we're going home, you know? How do you feel when you're on top of a turbine? One time of year. January when it's 20 below and the wind's blowing, I think it's the worst damn place in the world and I don't want to be there. But now you take a nice summer day that's like 75, 80 degrees and a light breeze,

and you can go sit up on top of a cell and have your lunch and have the most gorgeous view. It's like you're on top of the world. It really is. For On the Job, I'm Otis Gray. Thanks for listening to On The Job, brought to you by Express Employment Professionals. This season of On The Job is produced by Audiation and Red Seat Ventures. The episodes were written and produced by me, Otis Gray. Our executive producer is Sandy Smallins.

The show is mixed by Matt Noble for Audiation Studios at the loft in Bronxville, New York. Music by Blue Dot Sessions. Find us on IHeart Radio and Apple Podcasts. If you liked what you heard, please consider rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. We'll see you next time for more inspiring stories about making yourself essential as you discover your life's work. All right, if you have ever dealt with a traditional home security company, you know the drill. Expensive monthly fees, contracts that lock you in. for years and waiting around for a technician to set everything up. It's a lot. Well, now they're

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