Our Wind Resource 

The prairie winds in Illinois have the potential to generate electricity for millions of homes. Most of the state has moderate Class 3 winds, with pockets of stronger Class 4 winds located throughout the state.

The Department of Energy map at the right shows average wind speeds in Illinois at 50m. Many of the largest wind installations are now much taller, meaning there are many more areas of strong wind in the state.

Our Transmission Infrastructure
Illinois’ electric load is primarily served by large coal and nuclear plants that use hundreds of miles of high voltage transmission lines to deliver power to users. Wind farms can tie into this existing infrastructure.

States like Texas and the Dakotas have less-developed transmission infrastructure, and must invest hundreds of millions of dollars building transmission lines to access their renewable resources. In contrast, Illinois has a huge electric load in the Chicago area, and the state's wind resources are relatively close to this market, requiring much less transmission investment.

In addition, parts of Northern Illinois are on the PJM electric grid, a regional transmission organization serving a market of over 50 million people in 13 states. Illinois has the strongest winds in the PJM market, making Illinois projects very attractive to utilities in several states.

All of this makes wind a valuable export commodity for Illinois rural communities.

Above: Wind farms are now being develped across the state's windiest areas (see our maps page for more details). Huge electric transmission highways cut through many of these areas, allowing wind farms to deliver power from project sites to the large electric load in the Chicago area and east throughout the PJM Interconnect (See map at left).