Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wind Farm Operations Specialist

🎯 Role Definition

The Wind Farm Operations Specialist is responsible for ensuring safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation of wind farm assets. This role focuses on real-time SCADA and condition monitoring, preventative and predictive maintenance coordination, technical troubleshooting and root cause analysis, compliance with HSE and grid codes, outage planning and execution, stakeholder and vendor management, and continuous performance optimization to maximize availability and energy yield.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Wind Turbine Technician (senior / lead)
Mechanical/Electrical Field Service Technician (renewables)
Reliability/Condition Monitoring Technician

Advancement To:

Operations Manager / O&M Manager
Asset Manager (Renewable Portfolio)
Reliability Engineer / Performance Manager

Lateral Moves:

Commissioning Engineer (wind)
Grid & Power Systems Specialist
Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Lead for Renewables

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Monitor real-time SCADA and CMS systems to identify alarms, deviations, and underperformance across the wind farm, investigate root causes and initiate corrective actions to restore turbine availability and optimize energy yield.
Coordinate and manage planned and reactive maintenance activities including scheduling technicians, issuing and closing work orders, ensuring correct permits and risk assessments are in place for safe execution.
Lead fault diagnosis and technical troubleshooting of turbine subsystems (generator, gearbox, pitch, yaw, hydraulic systems, power electronics), working with OEM support and field crews to rapidly resolve faults and minimize downtime.
Develop, review and implement preventive, predictive and condition-based maintenance plans informed by vibration analysis, oil analysis, thermography, SCADA trends and component life-cycle data to reduce failure rates and maintenance costs.
Prepare, manage and optimize annual and monthly O&M budgets including cost tracking, invoice verification, spare parts consumption reporting and continuous cost-saving initiatives without compromising safety or availability.
Plan and coordinate major outages and component replacements (nacelle work, blade repairs, gearbox exchange), including ETA management, crane and logistics planning, contractor selection and quality assurance for turnkey activities.
Produce accurate technical and commercial reporting such as availability, energy yield, performance ratio, lost production analysis, corrective action plans and KPI dashboards for internal stakeholders and external owners.
Ensure compliance with all relevant HSE policies, site-specific safety plans, local regulations and grid code requirements; lead toolbox talks, site safety audits and incident investigations with corrective/preventive actions.
Manage spare parts inventory strategy and logistics, including BOM maintenance, critical spares forecasting, storage best practices and supplier agreements to minimize lead times and reduce ARO (Average Repair Order) time.
Interface with grid operators, transmission owners and permitting authorities to coordinate curtailments, commissioning tests, reactive power requirements and to manage grid-code compliance and reporting.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives such as reliability centered maintenance, failure mode effects analysis (FMEA), root cause analysis (RCA) programs and lessons-learned workshops to improve fleet performance and reduce repeat failures.
Maintain and update asset technical documentation, OEM manuals, SOPs, inspection checklists and maintenance procedures ensuring regulatory and contractual alignment.
Support warranty and insurance claims processes by compiling technical evidence, failure reports and liaising with OEMs and insurers to secure appropriate remediation or compensation.
Provide technical leadership during commissioning, major upgrades and retrofit projects, coordinating multi-disciplinary teams to ensure seamless handover from construction to commercial operation.
Conduct regular turbine inspections (nacelle, hub, blades, tower) including use of rope access, drones or cranes where required; document defects and prioritize repair scopes to reduce lost production risk.
Supervise and train field maintenance crews and junior operations staff on troubleshooting, maintenance best practices, safe work procedures and data-driven decision making to build internal capability.
Implement and manage remote operations and control strategies (SCADA control actions, curtailment, wake management) to maximize farm-level performance while respecting contractual and regulatory constraints.
Negotiate and manage third-party contracts and service agreements (O&M contractors, OEM service, inspections, logistics) ensuring SLA/KPI targets, cost control and compliance with safety and quality expectations.
Execute risk assessments and develop contingency and emergency response plans (storm response, fire, major failure) to protect personnel, minimize environmental impact and expedite return to service.
Lead environmental and permitting compliance activities such as avian/bat monitoring coordination, noise & shadow flicker reporting and remediation actions required under lease and permitting conditions.
Monitor and analyze long-term asset health trends to inform CAPEX planning, replacement strategies and end-of-life decisions on major components and major works.
Serve as primary technical contact for stakeholders including investors, asset managers and community representatives, preparing and presenting regular performance briefings and technical updates.

Secondary Functions

Support implementation and optimization of SCADA and Condition Monitoring System configurations, alarm threshold tuning and data logging best practices.
Assist in the creation and maintenance of digital twins, asset models and predictive algorithms that improve failure prediction and scheduling of proactive maintenance.
Contribute to continuous documentation of processes, knowledge base articles and training materials to institutionalize operational expertise and reduce single points of knowledge risk.
Participate in cross-functional project teams for upgrades, repowering, or hybridization (e.g., battery integration) initiatives, providing operational input to ensure maintainability and grid compliance.
Support procurement and technical evaluation of new turbine components and O&M technologies that reduce levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and enhance reliability.
Provide on-call support for escalated site incidents and serve as liaison between control room operations, field teams and senior management during recovery efforts.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

SCADA systems operation and alarm management (e.g., WindFarm SCADA, OpenWind, Enercon, GE/Siemens OEM SCADA).
Condition Monitoring Systems (CMS) and vibration analysis (FMECA, FFT interpretation, route-based and continuous monitoring).
Wind turbine systems expertise: drivetrain (gearbox, bearings), generator, pitch & yaw systems, power electronics and control systems.
Mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills including multimeter, insulation testing, thermal imaging and hydraulic diagnostics.
Outage planning and heavy-lift/crane logistics coordination for nacelle and blade replacement.
Knowledge of IEC standards for wind turbines (IEC 61400 series), grid codes, and environmental permit conditions.
Work order and CMMS proficiency (e.g., SAP PM, Infor EAM, Maximo) for maintenance planning and spare parts management.
Data analysis and KPI reporting using Excel, Power BI/Tableau, Python/R or similar tools to analyze availability, energy yield and trend data.
Experience with OEM warranty processes, claims documentation and technical liaison with turbine manufacturers.
Risk assessment and safety systems knowledge: JSA/JHA, LOTO, rescue plans, fall protection and confined space procedures.
Familiarity with remote operations, SCADA control commands, curtailment strategies and wake management techniques.
Basic understanding of grid integration, reactive power management, SCADA telemetry protocols (IEC 61850, OPC, Modbus).

Soft Skills

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to diagnose complex multi-disciplinary faults and recommend durable corrective actions.
Clear verbal and written communication for stakeholder reporting, vendor negotiation and cross-team coordination.
Leadership and people management skills to coordinate contractors and mentor field technicians.
Project management aptitude: prioritization, scheduling, multi-tasking and meeting strict timelines and budgets.
Attention to detail and rigorous documentation discipline for safety, compliance and warranty traceability.
Adaptability and resilience in a field-based, operations-critical environment often requiring on-call availability.
Customer- and stakeholder-focused approach with ability to present technical information to non-technical audiences.
Continuous improvement mindset with curiosity for data-driven reliability enhancements and operational excellence.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Associate degree or technical diploma in Electrical, Mechanical, Renewable Energy Technology, or similar technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering, or Asset Management.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Mechanical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Renewable Energy Technology
Asset and Reliability Engineering
Industrial Maintenance / Energy Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years in wind farm operations, O&M, turbine service or similar roles.

Preferred:

5+ years operating or supervising wind farm O&M with demonstrable experience in SCADA/CMS monitoring, outage coordination, and technical fault resolution.
Experience working with major OEMs (Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, GE/LM/Wind) and familiarity with their service and support processes.
Proven track record of meeting fleet availability targets, reducing downtime and implementing reliability improvements.