Corn Farms and Wind Turbines in Illinois

Drive out of Chicago for about an hour and you will notice something new with the corn fields of Illinois. They are dotted with wind turbines and more are going up constantly.

Illinois is a natural wind farm super state. Home to Chicago, the “windy city”, the state is known for its winds. Unfortunately, it is also known for a government system that is, shall we say, “interesting.” Instead of being a leader in wind power, the state has lagged badly because of a lack of financial assistance and incentive.

Get A Free Solar Quote Today - Click Here

This all started changing a few years back when the state government did two things. First, they required the utilities in the state to start buying more and more renewable energy each year with a minimum cap of 25 percent being necessary by 2025. The state then required the utilities to look for renewable energy generated in the state first, prior to considering external sources.

The end result of this has been a boon for the corn fields in the state. The state is littered with them. An enterprising wind power company realized it could use the fields to make power and help the farmers. The turbines being put in require a relatively small footprint in the fields since the parts that require a lot of space are up in the air. In turn, the farmers earn between $3,000 and $8,000 a year for each turbine and plant corn or whatever right up to the base of them.

Join Our Free Solar Newsletter

The wind power revolution has reached the point that some serious megawatts of electricity are now being generated. Just one of the larger collections of turbines is now generating 300 megawatts. This is enough energy to power 70,000 homes. As more and more wind turbines come online, the number of megawatts produced will only continue to grow substantially.

The idea of planting wind turbines in the middle of farm fields is an interesting one. Hopefully, it is one that will take off across the country.

<< Back to Wind Farm