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<\/p>\nThe story of the green transition is often told through technology. But behind the blades and cables are people \u2013 engineers, medics and advocates \u2013 whose work, and lives, are shaped by the winds of change<\/p>\n
\t\tSupported by:<\/p>\n
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\u201cBloody hell, it\u2019s enormous!\u201d That was my first reaction on seeing a new wind turbine blade at close quarters, outside its factory in the city of Baoding, China\u2019s renewable energy powerhouse. That visit some years ago brought home to me the sheer scale of the technology. It was an impression confirmed later, gazing out from the north Kent coast at the vast London Array offshore farm, and then standing under a towering turbine as it spun its slow circles high above a maize field in Germany. Scale and grace.<\/p>\n
But there was one glaring absence from all my marvelling: people. Out there, these mighty engines seemed to stand alone. Which, of course, is nonsense. Because they wouldn\u2019t be there in the first place, let alone keep spinning out reliable megawatts of power, if they didn\u2019t have a dedicated crew of humans involved at every stage: planning, installing, laying cables, sinking steel and concrete, fine-tuning soft- and hardware every step of the way \u2013 and caring for each other as they do so, in some pretty challenging, sometimes remote, environments.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to put them back in the picture. With that in mind, here are glimpses of three people who keep the winds of change blowing strong.<\/p>\n
Saving lives offshore
\nMike Amos, offshore paramedic<\/p>\n
Dealing with everything from heart attacks and hernias to sleeplessness and depression is all in a day\u2019s work for a medic \u2013 and that\u2019s true for Mike Amos, too. But unlike him, few get to do so in the middle of a storm way out in the South China Sea, or on the waves over the Dogger Bank.<\/p>\n
As a qualified offshore paramedic, Amos\u2019 base is on the boats working on some of the world\u2019s massive windfarms. Which means sometimes he might be up the top of a turbine, running a practice drill evacuating a casualty down the tower, and next doing the same 30 metres below sea level.<\/p>\n
In spite of the challenging conditions at sea \u2013 and doubtless because of his scrupulous attention to health and safety \u2013 real emergencies are rare. But they do happen: a heart attack in the North Sea, a hand crushed as a typhoon lashed the boat off Taiwan. Both casualties were brought safely to shore.<\/p>\n
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\n As a qualifed offshore paramedic, Amos\u2019 base is on the boats working on some of the world\u2019s massive windfarms. Image: Gordon Burniston\n <\/p>\n
Often it\u2019s \u201cjust colds and Lemsips\u201d, says Amos. But there are other, more insidious health challenges too. A bunch of blokes (\u201cand they are 99% blokes for now, though more women are starting to come into the industry\u201d) cooped up on a ship for weeks on end, far from home and loved ones, inevitably throws up other challenges. Amos sees his role as teasing out what\u2019s really going on, sometimes from men who are reluctant to open up. His down-to-earth, friendly Glaswegian manner helps. \u201cThey might come with a bad back or little niggles, maybe hoping you\u2019ll sign them off as unfit for work that night, but then you might realise there are issues at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early experience in the ambulance service helps, too, he says, \u201cgoing into people\u2019s homes, noticing the small things\u201d, assessing what\u2019s really going on. \u201cI make it my business to know what\u2019s happening all over the vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amos joins in with volleyball and workout sessions (\u201cexercise is vital when you\u2019re stuck on a ship\u201d), and with blokey chats in the sauna. \u201cIt\u2019s good to break down any barriers, get to know the crew, then it\u2019s easier for them to approach you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I just love it. I love the ethos, the camaraderie. I love the way things work. I love the vessel life. I basically love the buzz of the offshore wind<\/p>\n
As we speak, he\u2019s on holiday with his wife and two children in Mexico, about to head off to a new posting on the Empire windfarm off Long Island, which is set to be the first to connect to the New York City grid.<\/p>\n
Spending up to six weeks offshore is tough for a man with a young family, but the equal amount of time on leave is appealing \u2013 and there are gaps between assignments, too. Like all the wind workers I\u2019ve spoken to, Amos enjoys his holidays, but also uses the time to study for the latest in professional qualifcations. As he puts it: \u201cYou have to have continuous personal development to stand out from the crowd.\u201d He still does some shifts as ambulance crew, too. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to get back out on the road again, keeps me in touch with the practice \u2013 and also reminds me why I\u2019m not working for the NHS any more.\u201d<\/p>\n
He and his family are planning on emigrating to Spain shortly, but says he\u2019s in the offshore business for the long term. \u201cI just love it. I love the ethos, the camaraderie. I love the way things work. I love the vessel life. I basically love the buzz of the offshore wind.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sky high and grounded Grzegorz K\u0119dzierski (\u2018Greg\u2019 to his workmates) has a head for heights. And just as well. Some wind turbines are 150 metres tall, or more. So it\u2019s good to know they come equipped with lifts. But these can\u2019t be switched on until the electrics are thoroughly checked \u2013 which is the responsibility of commissioning engineers like Greg. Until then, the only way up is by ladder, a very long way indeed. And when you\u2019re up top and the wind is blowing, he says, \u201cyou can feel like you\u2019re on the sea. Because the turbine is designed to give a little, to respond to the wind. It can shift, two, three metres each side. If it\u2019s too rigid, it could fall over.\u201d<\/p>\n K\u0119dzierski\u2019s responsibilities include checking \u201ceach and every one\u201d of the many electrical connections and software within the turbines: a sophisticated array of controls that allow them to operate safely and deliver \u201cthe best quality power\u201d. It\u2019s a role that has taken him from his native Poland to the Mekong delta in Vietnam, from the far north of Sweden to Japan, and out on the waves of the North Sea. The same sense of balance that helps him cope with the sway at the top of the turbines does so on the water too. Does he ever get sea sick? \u201cNo, never have.\u201d But working offshore brings other challenges. \u201cYou have to plan ahead: when you\u2019re far out at sea, you can\u2019t go back to base and pick up a forgotten tool. You have to take everything you might possibly need, and then more.\u201d<\/p>\n Working remotely suits his nature. \u201cI don\u2019t like to stay in one place for long.\u201d The project placements are typically two weeks on, two weeks off. But the work period can be longer when in remote regions or offshore. Then he says he can feel homesick. Home has an added attraction now, in the form of an EA300 small acrobatic plane. Flying was K\u0119dzierski\u2019s first love, and at one point he contemplated changing careers: he was poised to become a commercial pilot, had all the necessary certifications, but then Covid hit, and \u201cswitched off the aviation market \u2026 I came back to the wind business. It was a good decision: flying can be my hobby instead.\u201d<\/p>\n Sometimes, I like to go out on the top of a turbine and stay there for a while, watching the world from above<\/p>\n So he spent the savings he\u2019d accumulated from his turbine work \u201cnot on a house or a fat\u201d, but the plane, and is busy training for national aerobatics competitions, practising flying in close formation alongside a pilot friend.<\/p>\n Does it have anything in common with his day job? Safety and precision, says K\u0119dzierski. \u201cYou have to follow very strict procedures. Otherwise you risk harm to yourself, and to others.\u201d<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s no romance to it all. Whether in his plane or on the height of a windfarm, he says, \u201cI love the sense of space.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes,\u201d he adds, \u201cI like to go out on the top of a turbine and stay there for a while, watching the world from above.\u201d And, of course, looking forward to his next fight. \u201cThe sky is no longer the limit,\u201d he declared. \u201cIt\u2019s the playground!\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.positive.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Grzegorz-Kedzierski-Poland_K.Kouzmitcheva_final-11.jpg\")
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\nGrzegorz K\u0119dzierski, commissioning engineer\u00a0<\/p>\n