Wind · Illinois
Illinois Wind jobs: 9,216 employed (2024)
Wind Jobs in Illinois (2024)
9,216
Rank #2 of 51
6.93% of U.S.
Illinois-adjusted median
$82,087
Across 2 tracked wind roles, BEA RPP × 1.01.
Where Illinois’s clean-energy jobs sit across 8 sectors
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 89,878 | #5 |
| Wind | 9,216 | #2 |
| Solar | 7,158 | #15 |
| Electric Vehicles | 4,525 | #8 |
| Nuclear | 4,209 | #2 |
| Storage & Grid | 2,789 | #8 |
| Hydropower | 979 | #12 |
| Clean Fuels | 464 | #11 |
Illinois vs. the wind leader, median, and bottom
1st · Texas
28,124
2. Illinois
9,216
25th · Arizona
1,489
51st · Delaware
98
Wind roles and pay in Illinois
| Role | SOC | National median | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind Energy Engineer | 17-2199.10 | $100,940 | 4 |
| Wind Turbine Service Technician | 49-9081.00 | $61,770 | 3 |
Employer-reported hiring difficulty in Illinois
Did not hire
50.1%
Somewhat difficult hiring
28.0%
Very difficult hiring
17.2%
Not at all difficult hiring
4.7%
NAICS industry mix for Illinois clean-energy jobs
Manufacturing
79,577
Construction
64,186
Professional Services
47,035
Other Services
45,006
Trade
32,565
Utilities
22,832
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows
12,286
Mining and Extraction
3,986
Agriculture and Forestry
2,939
Illinois’s electric-power generation workforce by fuel type
Wind
9,216
Solar
7,158
Natural gas electricity
4,433
Nuclear electricity
4,209
Bioenergy/Combined heat and power
2,212
Other electricity
1,890
Coal electricity
1,846
Traditional hydropower
979
Oil and other fossil fuel electricity
426
Low impact hydropower, marine, and hydrokinetics
415
Geothermal electricity
282
Full USEER workbook line items for Illinois
Fuels
| Fuels total | 29,608 |
| Oil (petroleum and other fossil fuels) | 17,507 |
| Corn ethanol | 3,471 |
| Coal fuels | 2,813 |
| Natural gas fuels | 1,828 |
| Other fuels | 1,385 |
| Other ethanol and non-woody biomass | 1,200 |
| Nuclear fuels | 615 |
| Other biofuels | 464 |
| Woody biomass | 325 |
Electric Power Generation
| Electric power generation total | 33,065 |
| Wind | 9,216 |
| Solar | 7,158 |
| Natural gas electricity | 4,433 |
| Nuclear electricity | 4,209 |
| Bioenergy/Combined heat and power | 2,212 |
| Other electricity | 1,890 |
| Coal electricity | 1,846 |
| Traditional hydropower | 979 |
| Oil and other fossil fuel electricity | 426 |
| Low impact hydropower, marine, and hydrokinetics | 415 |
| Geothermal electricity | 282 |
Transmission, Distribution & Storage
| Transmission, distribution, and storage total | 50,010 |
| Traditional transmission and distribution | 30,599 |
| Other (including commodity flows) | 13,751 |
| Storage | 2,789 |
| Smart grid | 1,430 |
| Other grid modernization | 728 |
| Micro grid | 713 |
Energy Efficiency
| Energy efficiency total | 89,878 |
| Traditional HVAC with an efficiency component | 29,902 |
| High efficiency HVAC and renewable heating and cooling | 26,833 |
| Certified and efficient lighting | 14,895 |
| Advanced materials | 9,158 |
| Other | 9,089 |
Motor Vehicles
| Motor vehicle total | 107,851 |
| Gasoline and diesel vehicles | 81,513 |
| Hybrid electric vehicles | 7,147 |
| Other vehicles | 5,575 |
| Battery electric vehicles | 4,525 |
| Motor vehicle commodity flows | 4,308 |
| Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles | 3,250 |
| Hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles | 813 |
| Natural gas vehicles | 720 |
By NAICS Industry
| Manufacturing | 79,577 |
| Construction | 64,186 |
| Professional Services | 47,035 |
| Other Services | 45,006 |
| Trade | 32,565 |
| Utilities | 22,832 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 12,286 |
| Mining and Extraction | 3,986 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 2,939 |
Skill profile for wind roles
Top skills
Critical Thinking3.75
Reading Comprehension3.50
Complex Problem Solving3.32
Judgment and Decision Making3.31
Operations Monitoring3.31
Active Listening3.25
Speaking3.25
Systems Analysis3.25
Knowledge
Engineering and Technology4.25
Computers and Electronics4.08
English Language4.06
Mechanical3.92
Mathematics3.83
Physics3.65
Design3.48
Administration and Management3.44
Core abilities
Deductive Reasoning3.75
Problem Sensitivity3.69
Oral Comprehension3.57
Inductive Reasoning3.50
Near Vision3.50
Written Comprehension3.50
Oral Expression3.32
Written Expression3.19
Representative tasks for wind workers
- Inspect or repair fiberglass turbine blades. (Supplemental)
- Collect turbine data for testing or research and analysis. (Core)
- Design underground or overhead wind farm collector systems. (Supplemental)
- Write reports to document wind farm collector system test results. (Supplemental)
- Climb wind turbine towers to inspect, maintain, or repair equipment. (Core)
- Perform root cause analysis on wind turbine tower component failures. (Supplemental)
- Test wind turbine equipment to determine effects of stress or fatigue. (Supplemental)
- Diagnose problems involving wind turbine generators or control systems. (Core)
- Oversee the work activities of wind farm consultants or subcontractors. (Supplemental)
- Start or restart wind turbine generator systems to ensure proper operations. (Core)
- Provide engineering technical support to designers of prototype wind turbines. (Supplemental)
- Assist in assembly of individual wind generators or construction of wind farms. (Supplemental)
Software and tools used in wind roles
Microsoft PowerPoint 🔥
Microsoft Project 🔥
Structured query language SQL 🔥
Microsoft Word 🔥
Microsoft Excel 🔥
Microsoft Office software 🔥
Microsoft Outlook 🔥
Autodesk AutoCAD 🔥
Python 🔥
Bentley MicroStation 🔥
Git 🔥
Microsoft SQL Server 🔥
C# 🔥
Microsoft Visio 🔥
C++ 🔥
SAP software 🔥
Microsoft Visual Basic 🔥
JUnit 🔥
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks 🔥
Linux 🔥
Microsoft Visual Studio 🔥
ESRI ArcGIS software 🔥
Tableau 🔥
Microsoft .NET Framework 🔥
Education & training paths into wind
IM
Job-Related Professional Certification2.8%
Apprenticeship2.4%
OJ
On-the-Job Training12.5%
PT
On-Site or In-Plant Training11.8%
Required Level of Education
Required Level of Education18.2%
Related Work Experience (Years)
Related Work Experience12.5%