With the highest unemployment rate in the nation, Windsor and Essex County municipalities are trying hard to lure the 300-job plant Siemens Canada wants to open in southern Ontario.

The plant will supply wind turbine blades to Samsung and other companies.

Another 600 jobs would be created during construction of the plant.

In an interview Thursday, Bill Smith, senior vice-president for energy at Siemens Canada, said the company is down to a short list of three locations in the Hamilton-Windsor corridor.

He wouldn't confirm whether any Windsor-area communities or sites made the short list.

With numerous empty plants, hundreds of acres of vacant industrial land, good rail and port facilities, and no shortage of workers, the area appears to meet the company's main search criteria.

"We're working hard on it," said Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis.

"I can't say anything beyond that."

Francis said the Windsor region has been pursuing wind turbine supplier plants after the province announced a $7-billion green energy deal in January with Samsung.

Amherstburg Mayor Wayne Hurst hopes his town's former General Chemical site -- which comes with a deepwater port and rail facilities -- will be considered by Siemens.

Lakeshore Mayor Tom Bain said his town is also interested in the Siemens jobs for its industrial area, but he's not sure if a site large enough for the plant can be assembled there.

With the $460 million, 72-turbine Brookfield Renewable Power wind farm and several other smaller projects under way, Lakeshore will within a few years host the most wind turbines in Essex County. Siemens is already a supplier to the Brookfield project.