Spring breezes are coming just in time for one central Illinois county that opened a new wind farm. Chicago Public Radio’s Shawn Allee has more.

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You might think plenty of open space, spring storms, and even tornados would make Illinois suitable for wind energy.

But data show Illinois has few places gusty enough for utility-scale wind farms.

Texas-based Horizon Wind Energy found one good spot, though.

Project developer Bob Crowell says Horizon found a long ridge on farmland east of Bloomington.

He says the ridge was left behind from the last glacier.

Crowell : it’s built on a nice, big flat area for miles coming up from the south. It’s on higher ground. There’s a bit of a rise, so the wind has to accelerate to get over that.

Horizon’s first thirty seven turbines feed into Chicago’s grid, but the company plans on adding another two hundred turbines.

The full project could supply power to one hundred and twenty thousand homes.

I’m Shawn Allee.

Chicago Public Radio.