Mortenson Construction has started construction of the Shady Oaks Wind Farm near Compton, Illinois adding 109.5 megawatts to the state's wind energy capacity. The wind power facility will consist of 71 Goldwind turbines.

Mortenson is responsible for the design and construction of access roads, collection system, foundations, and the erection of the turbines.

The Shady Oaks project will be the fifth utility-scale wind facility that Mortenson has constructed in Illinois, bringing the total number of turbines erected in the state to 541, upon its completion.

Construction started in late August and is expected to be complete in early 2012.

According to the Illinois Wind Energy Association, an average 100-megawatt wind farm in Illinois creates 125 to 150 temporary construction jobs and 10 permanent maintenance jobs, which is consistent with the number of jobs that will be created with the Shady Oak Project.

"The Shady Oaks project is the first partnership of Mortenson and Goldwind and the first major wind project in the U.S. to utilize the advanced Permanent Magnet Direct Drive Technology (PMDD)," states Tim Maag, a vice president and general manager of Mortenson's Renewable Energy Groups.

"We selected Mortenson as our construction partner for the Shady Oaks project because of their outstanding track record of success with wind farm construction and because of the commitment to on-site safety," said Tim Rosenzweig, CEO of Goldwind USA.

"We are pleased to be working with Mortenson on this important project."

The Goldwind portfolio of 1.5 and 2.5 megawatt permanent magnet direct-drive wind turbines are designed for high power generating efficiency, superior power quality and grid code compliance, and significantly reduced maintenance and total operating expenditures.

The simplistic permanent magnet direct-drive design reduces the number of high-speed rotational parts and avoids the sources of expensive faults that require crane mobilization.