These recommended practices represent decades of experience from the members of the AWEA Operations and Maintenance Working Group and should help bring that expertise, often gained from other industry sectors, to help inform, train and support wind energy technicians and managers in their efforts to improve reliability and project performance. These are, in general, the nuts and bolts of wind energy power plant maintenance and operations. As the industry matures, additional maintenance strategies and operations philosophies will certainly come to the fore, but these basics will always be required knowledge for new technicians and asset managers expanding their areas of responsibility.