For a bright spot in Illinois’ otherwise gloomy economic forecast, look no further than downstate Sheldon. Today the Daily Journal has the details on how a $350 million investment in a new 150-megawatt wind farm will help breathe new life into the slumping local economy by creating high-paying jobs and new spending on construction materials and other goods:

Construction would involve about 100 union jobs, some for specialists who will come into the area, some from local union halls, he said. Construction is expected to take about eight months.

Permanent employment will include “about 10 full-time and a significant number of part-time jobs” to maintain the operation at Sheldon…

The good news doesn’t stop there. The Sheldon project accounts for merely one of several large-scale wind farms that are on the horizon in Illinois. A project in Paxton is now moving full-speed ahead and its developer, E.ON Climate and Renewables, announced today that it plans to pursue another project located between Watseka to Martinton.

Meanwhile, over in McDonough and Warren counties, a wind farm that’s in the works is anticipated to create upwards of 200 union-wage jobs. And Vermilion County is positioning itself to attract similar wind projects.

By our count, these projects amount to a nearly $2 billion investment in the state’s economy. This certainly flies in the face of the prediction that wind development is headed for a slowdown. But E.ON Climate and Renewables’ Joe Borokowski cautions that “the market is not endless.”

For years, environmentalists have echoed Borokowski concern that without bolstering “transmission capacity," the nation will be stuck with non-renewable energy sources. (Watch Josh’s interview with Illinois Sierra Club’s Jack Darin for more on the challenges posed by our dilapidated grid.) A proposed $11 billion investment aimed at expanding the grid  -- which made it into the House's proposed stimulus package -- is certainly a start.

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