Ride Like The Wind

I'm sure anyone reading this must have seen at least once or twice a tractor trailer ( 18 Wheeler) hauling a monster of a load while trucking down a highway. You can catch us winding around mountain passes or carefully crawling through Main street USA, even while the farmers market and tomato paste festival in full swing.

These types of loads are somewhat slow in moving, well because they have to be. The wide load trucking industry is highly regulated and requires a gagillion special permits even when just to moving a few miles. That's right, moving a transformer from the shipyard to its 10 mile final location can sometimes take an 8 hour day and require many extra eyeballs to get it there safely. By eyeballs I ,mean on the front and back of the tractor trailer 18 wheeler rigs that are hauling these over sized loads.

That's where I come in! I'm what's called a Pilot Escort. My job is to assist large, over-sized, long, and wide loads as they make their journey from one place to another.

I specialize in moving sections of 100 + feet long turbine towers.

When wind energy became a thing early on, most paid very little to no attention in its viability and sustainability. It seemed unrealistic for any other source to rival oil and gas. Although the God's of Fossil Fuel continued to dominate every aspect of buying, selling and controlling energy, wind power slowly made its way onto the main stage, and as someone once said,"the rest is history."

Once upon a time, those very (oil and gas) companies I speak of were my bread and butter, thus I didn't care or give much thought to anything in relation to wind energy. However, one day wind energy flexed, started creeping up and actually made its presence known. When I and other bold pilots decided that we would partake in this phenomenon, the major oil brands that once handed us the keys to their homes and cars, abruptly stopped doing so. Basically, the more wind energy we hauled the less they worked with us, until pretty much weening us off completely. They must have done so because they felt I (we) were somehow breaching or breaking our loyalty.

This ain't no joke folks and if you'll hang in with me, I'll do my best to paint you a pseudo-Rembrandt in the transformation it made in me.

Fast forward or rewind a bit..

In his White House run, Biden promised a very aggressive renewable energy package worth in the neighborhood of around $2 trillion.

This package held the promise to see a rise in solar p.v and wind turbine energy. Truth be said, my gut feeling told me otherwise. I believed that [then] candidate Biden was making empty promises that he could not be deliver upon even had he tried.

Massive Turbines need massive land and space to properly stretch to their potential. Think about it, where have you seen wind farms populated with hundreds of turbines in your neck of the woods lately? It takes a special place where the lay of the land is not only vast, but mother nature must cooperate in the variables which produce natural wind patterns.

Well, needless to say, was I ever wrong in doubting the power of this green renewable energy movement and Biden's commitment.

With the current administrations green initiative more than ever in full swing, approval for new wind farms seem to be at their heights, and by that, wind turbines are popping up in areas across the country but where conditions are sufficient in wind proven productivity.

But along with mother natures cooperation, there is also the consideration of the large parcels of land where these massive turbines are to be planted and further populated upon. Thus the administrations earmarked funds must also buy the participation of the various communities as landowners large and small must agree to set the foundation and play ball. Without this kind of cooperation,the frequency in expansion can hit a wall and come to an abrupt halt. So if nothing else, I give kuddos to Biden and company for their commitment in making renewable energy job #1.

The international community are no strangers to renewable energy either. Many European countries have close to perfected the creation and delivery process of renewable energy. Although the United States are certainly considered a mainstay in clean air business, when it comes to the number of wind farms, solar energy and other types of non-fossil fuel products , China and Europe are the leaders in the development, delivery and decommissioning of these processes.

Where does China come you ask? Well, according to WorldAtlas.com, China has wind farms stretched all across their countryside, and they also own the #1 wind project ranking. China's Gansu Wind Farm produces 7,965 MW of power, which is enough to provide electricity for approximately 1.3 million household. That is power generated from one single wind farm ya'll.

According to that same data, the United States makes its presence known with six (6) of our wind farms ranked in the top 10 in all (world) projects. Not bad!

California's Alta Wind Project, a.k.a Mojave Wind Farm takes the #2 world ranking, producing 1,548 MW serving around 275,000 households. Oregon's Shepherds Flats comes in at #5, while the great state of Texas sits pretty holding three positions at #6, #7 , #8, together generating 2,178 MW as Indiana's Fowler Ridge Wind Farm tops off the rankings at #10.

To provide some sort of a snapshot, in that same data, the Alta-Oak Creek Mojave Project in California, claim to fame states that the non utilization of fossil fuels, the reduction in emissions on a yearly calculations are reduced by 5.8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, 28 million pounds of sulfur dioxide, and 13.2 million pounds of nitrogen oxides.

Works for me, as what I do must in someway shape or for impact these reductions on a national level, right?

This current setback as it relates to the Fossil Fuel industry, where oil fields slowed production has by my experience given the look that the cleaner and renewable stuff has gotten a well needed boost; a coat-tail grab on and ride scenario if you will. I'm seeing more and more of some of these perhaps lesser, yet well received competitors within the energy space to be gaining some ground, and certainly more attention.

Look for Bio-Fuels, like Ethanol, CNG, Diesel #2 and E85 to surge and become more available and more viable in more places. With all of these quick developing events as of late my business is now also more in demand.

Without pilot trucks guiding these monster loads, there might not be turbine generated wind energy; and that is as accurate of a statement as one might make.

As Pilot Truck Escort, guys like me are an integral piece to the puzzle as we are key in moving big, wide, super-loads across the country. We are there to watch and direct 18 wheeler's at each and every turn. We are the eyes that are otherwise veiled. Our communication with the driver of the load make every lane change, every potential upcoming risk from the rear or from as far as a mile ahead a safe event for both the drivers and the public at large.

Moving these towers, three sections at a time, along with and three turbine blades, is no easy task, in-fact it's downright dangerous. Believe it or not, many times it's us vs the very public that we seek to protect. Some people do not observe safety measures, some actually behave as if we are taking away their road rights, so they'll cut us off, or not adhere to certain rules of the road. I swear it seems some have a death wish as something seems to click in them when these massive loads impede or slow them down in anyway.

Rather than waiting until we safely clear, steer or guide the load out of their way, through tight roads, dangerous passes, they'll suddenly shoot out attempting by the skin of their teeth to pass the load while we are in the middle of a tough wide turn, a highway entry, exit or as we're attempting a difficult corner, curve or maneuver. One wrong move we clip a sign, light posts, even the side of a structure. One slip up, and the rig flips or worse.

This is a nerve wracking to say the least, a very stressful and time sensitive profession where one wrong move by the pilot or the public can cause a catastrophic event. Our job becomes even more uptight when making our way through elevated winding passes, inclining or declining curves.

When moving these towers, blades and other needed components, we're more often than not convoying. Besides the trucks long trailers to watch, there are the monstrous loads which make visuals for the driver of the rig near impossible.

I mean just imagine, each section to a tower, just over 100 feet long, where 3 of those sections make up the 300 foot tower. Not to mention other transported components needed in completing these mills. There are 3 blades which span 225 ft in length, the hub which the blades are attached to, then lifted by crane and fitted into another wide load component called the machine head, which is equal in size and weight of the stones that make up the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Moving these loads are dangerous, there are no second chances. Besides the heavy liability , there also exits the part where somebody doesn't go home, people get killed.

I'm not sure of the carbon footprint I'm lessening or leaving behind in doing what I do, and I'm not exactly sure what cause and effect comes from the generation of electrical energy from theses turbines. I'm not even sure on the exact numbers or percentages or the direct lessening of carbon that is attributed to the erection of a single Wind Turbine. For that I can only rely on data made available by those who are experts in that field.

However, it can't be rocket science to gather, that operating a plant which produces energy from coal, or fossil fuel leaves behind a margin much greater of carbon gases/emissions when produced, burned and released.

Although there are a number of Pilot Escorts across the US many of them want nothing to do with hauling anything made or created for or by wind. I guess they are afraid that they too will end up getting dissed and blacklisted by the nice folks that produce black gold. I have nothing against those guys nor do I have anything against what and how they do it.

I would however like to think that I'm doing some good and that from the early days, I've stood firm with reliable renewable energy, and never turned my nose up.

Finally, I also believe that it wouldn't be right moving renewable energy with full on gasoline powered trucks, right? I speak only for my crew when I say that we have been using various types of cleaner fuel and continue in embracing more of it as it is made more available.

For now Ethanol 10 % works fine, and we recently bought a Chevy 2500, that actually came from the factory with CNG capability, which serves us yet another flex option. All of our diesel required motors are filling up with Diesel#2 , which is the same as Bio-diesel and comes readily available at 19% and 20%.

I realize that these are not the answers for long term, but if everyone chipped away a little, then bit by bit we could make some difference. Who knows what mandates might be introduced in the near future that might push these cleaner energy options even more onto the mainstream stage.

Until then, when you see big wide loads and they look like some of these pictures on here, give us some love but mostly give us space.. Haha..

One final note..Even with all the politics involved and potential dangerous, I thank the All Mighty that we have never nor will we ever not go home. I dig what I do!

All images unless credited otherwise belong to me....

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