Vision Energy’s $1 Billion Wind Bet in Illinois

Residents of Kankakee County, Illinois are ready for the new clean energy economy. Inspired by the calls for more green jobs during the 2008 presidential campaign, a local group of business, education, and government leaders is working to make green-collar jobs a reality in their region. They recognize the potential for green-collar jobs to transform the local economy while also benefitting the country and the environment. They also see investment in wind energy as the wave of Kankakee’s clean energy future.

The manifest evidence that such a transition is possible comes from Vision Energy, a Cincinnati-based developer of clean energy projects that has built two large wind firms in north central Illinois (see pix left) and in Indiana. The company has proposed a 33,000-acre, $1 billion wind farm encompassing parts of four Illinois counties. The K4 project, according to Vision Energy President Turner Hunt, will build and operate over 300 wind turbines and employ as many as 250 construction and 40 full-time operations and maintenance workers.

The project is part of Illinois’ steady rise as a wind power center. As recently as 2003, the state generated just 50 megawatts of power from wind. This year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, it has capacity to generate nearly 1,000 megawatts and is the eighth largest wind power supplier among all the states.

One of Midwest’s Biggest Wind Projects
Turner told the Kankakee County Planning Commission in February that Vision Energy would turn to local labor unions to build the K4 project. Several community institutions are set to help. The Sustainability Center at Kankakee Community College (KCC), the Kankakee Area Career Center, and the local workforce board are developing training programs to provide local skilled workers to meet projected demand.

Community Prepares
Funded by a state grant, The Sustainability Center is part of the Illinois Community Colleges Sustainability Network and provides resources for students, homeowners, business owners, and community members. According to Sustainability Center Coordinator Rich Schultz, KCC’s Renewable Energy Technology program was developed in part so that “we’ll have candidates ready to walk out the door and go to work for Vision Energy.” They plan to collaborate with the developer on internship programs and job placement. The Sustainability Center is seeking grant money to install a training turbine that would provide hands-on experience for program participants as well as clean energy power for KCC.

The renewable energy program teaches many of the same skills as KCC’s traditional “blue-collar” training programs but with specialized renewable energy tracks to equip graduates for entry into “green-collar” careers. Residents of Kankakee County are confident these new careers will bring a welcome economic boost to their region and help usher in a new clean energy economy.

Mac Lynch is the program associate in the Apollo Alliance’s San Francisco office. Reach him at lynch (at) apolloalliance.org.