Chicago: The Home of Wind Power in North America

In recent years, Chicago has become the de-facto home of the wind energy industry in North America. Several of the world's largest companies in wind energy have opened offices in Chicago, attracted by the city’s proximity to project sites in the Midwest, well-developed air, rail and auto transportation infrastructure, access to strong legal and financial expertise, as well as the city’s status as a world-class business center.

These companies are bringing new jobs, new economic development and new, clean energy to our state, and Illinois is excited to be at the forefront of this cutting-edge industry.

Ilinois is also a growing manufacturing hub for wind energy components. With Siemens-Winergy assembling wind turbine gearboxes in Elgin, and Trinity Structural Towers rolling out massive turbine towers in Clinton, Illinois is already a national leader in wind component manufacturing.

But we've barely scratched the surface. Illinois also has some of the strongest potential for turbine component manufacturing in the form of metal fabricators and machine shops.

IWEA and other organizations are now working to ensure that more of the turbine components used in Illinois are manufactured in Illinois, bringing additional jobs to our state.