Wind Farm - Odell, IL - Windmills on Waymarking.com

You can see these driving southwest from Chicago along I55. I pulled off to get better pictures. The windmills nearest the road have a path that invites you to park and walk up for a closer view. Also very cool to view at night when their red airplane warning lights blink in unison.

There are several companies that mention having wind farms in the area. For example, Horizon Wind at (visit link) says:

"Top Crop I Wind Farm converts the winds that blow over the Illinois Cayuga Ridge into clean electricity. The wind farm is located in Grundy, Livingston and LaSalle Counties. Top Crop I has an installed capacity of 102 MW – enough to power approximately 28,000 average Illinois homes with clean energy each year. Top Crop I, which consists of 68 GE sle 1.5 MW turbines, achieved commercial operation in October 2009. Beginning in 2012, Commonwealth Edison will purchase 25 MW of the clean, renewable energy generated by the wind farm. Currently, the electricity generated by the wind farm is sold into the regional wholesale market. The associated energy credits are used by the businesses and organizations to comply with state renewable energy mandates or to voluntarily reduce the environmental impact of their operations."

and at (visit link) says:
"The Blackstone Wind Farm
Location: Approximately 6 miles north of Pontiac, Illinois, extending from just west of Odell to just south of Blackstone on the Cayuga Ridge.
Approximate Total Project Cost: $375 to $750 million.
Turbine Size: 2.8 to 3 MW.
Total Number of Turbines: 100 to 200.
Total Project Size: 300 to 600 MW.
Total Prospect Size: 15,000 to 25,000 acres.
Total Number of Acres Removed from Crop
Production: Less than 200 acres."

Another companies include Outland Renewable Services and Iberdrola Renewables.

When amongst the windmills you hear a periodic whooshing sound.

FYI: I55 parallels the old Route 66 out of Chicago. There are a number of related attractions worth visiting along the way.

Date of Manufacture: 06/01/2008 Purpose: Electricity Is This Windmill Functional?: Yes! Windmill Farm: yes Museum on Site: no Open to the public: Not Listed Cost: Not Listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/22/2016 stevepre2 visited it