Bill Text: IL SB1276 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Counties Code. In provisions about commercial wind energy facilities and commercial solar energy facilities, removes changes made by Public Act 102-1123. Provides that any provision of a county zoning ordinance pertaining to wind farms, commercial wind energy facilities, or commercial solar energy facilities that was in effect before January 27, 2023 may continue in effect notwithstanding any changes made in Public Act 102-1123 and, if applicable, any provision of a county zoning ordinance pertaining to wind farms that was in effect before August 16, 2007 may continue in effect notwithstanding the changes made in Public Act 95-203.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Referred to Assignments [SB1276 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB1276-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1276 Introduced 1/28/2025, by Sen. Chris Balkema SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
55 ILCS 5/5-12020
Amends the Counties Code. In provisions about commercial wind energy facilities and commercial solar energy facilities, removes changes made by Public Act 102-1123. Provides that any provision of a county zoning ordinance pertaining to wind farms, commercial wind energy facilities, or commercial solar energy facilities that was in effect before January 27, 2023 may continue in effect notwithstanding any changes made in Public Act 102-1123 and, if applicable, any provision of a county zoning ordinance pertaining to wind farms that was in effect before August 16, 2007 may continue in effect notwithstanding the changes made in Public Act 95-203.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing
Section 5-12020 as follows:
(55 ILCS 5/5-12020)
Sec. 5-12020. Wind farms, electric-generating wind
devices, and commercial Commercial wind energy facilities and
commercial solar energy facilities.
(a) As used in this Section:
"Commercial solar energy facility" means a "commercial
solar energy system" as defined in Section 10-720 of the
Property Tax Code. "Commercial solar energy facility" does not
mean a utility-scale solar energy facility being constructed
at a site that was eligible to participate in a procurement
event conducted by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to
subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency
Act.
"Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy
conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in
total nameplate generating capacity. "Commercial wind energy
facility" includes a wind energy conversion facility seeking
an extension of a permit to construct granted by a county or

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municipality before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of
Public Act 102-1123).
"Facility owner" means (i) a person with a direct
ownership interest in a commercial wind energy facility or a
commercial solar energy facility, or both, regardless of
whether the person is involved in acquiring the necessary
rights, permits, and approvals or otherwise planning for the
construction and operation of the facility, and (ii) at the
time the facility is being developed, a person who is acting as
a developer of the facility by acquiring the necessary rights,
permits, and approvals or by planning for the construction and
operation of the facility, regardless of whether the person
will own or operate the facility.
"Nonparticipating property" means real property that is
not a participating property.
"Nonparticipating residence" means a residence that is
located on nonparticipating property and that is existing and
occupied on the date that an application for a permit to
develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial
solar energy facility is filed with the county.
"Occupied community building" means any one or more of the
following buildings that is existing and occupied on the date
that the application for a permit to develop the commercial
wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
is filed with the county: a school, place of worship, day care
facility, public library, or community center.

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"Participating property" means real property that is the
subject of a written agreement between a facility owner and
the owner of the real property that provides the facility
owner an easement, option, lease, or license to use the real
property for the purpose of constructing a commercial wind
energy facility, a commercial solar energy facility, or
supporting facilities. "Participating property" also includes
real property that is owned by a facility owner for the purpose
of constructing a commercial wind energy facility, a
commercial solar energy facility, or supporting facilities.
"Participating residence" means a residence that is
located on participating property and that is existing and
occupied on the date that an application for a permit to
develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial
solar energy facility is filed with the county.
"Protected lands" means real property that is:
(1) subject to a permanent conservation right
consistent with the Real Property Conservation Rights Act;
or
(2) registered or designated as a nature preserve,
buffer, or land and water reserve under the Illinois
Natural Areas Preservation Act.
"Supporting facilities" means the transmission lines,
substations, access roads, meteorological towers, storage
containers, and equipment associated with the generation and
storage of electricity by the commercial wind energy facility

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or commercial solar energy facility.
"Wind tower" includes the wind turbine tower, nacelle, and
blades.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or whether
the county has formed a zoning commission and adopted formal
zoning under Section 5-12007, a county may establish standards
for wind farms and electric-generating wind devices commercial
wind energy facilities, commercial solar energy facilities, or
both. The standards may include, without limitation, the
height of the devices and the number of devices that may be
located within a geographic area all of the requirements
specified in this Section but may not include requirements for
commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy
facilities that are more restrictive than specified in this
Section. A county may also regulate the siting of wind farms
and electric-generating wind devices commercial wind energy
facilities with standards that are not more restrictive than
the requirements specified in this Section in unincorporated
areas of the county that are outside of the zoning
jurisdiction of a municipality and that are outside the
1.5-mile radius surrounding the zoning jurisdiction of a
municipality.
There shall be (c) If a county has elected to establish
standards under subsection (b), before the county grants
siting approval or a special use permit for a commercial wind
energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility, or

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modification of an approved siting or special use permit, the
county board of the county in which the facility is to be sited
or the zoning board of appeals for the county shall hold at
least one public hearing. The public hearing shall be
conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act and shall
be held not more than 60 days after the filing of the
application for the facility. The county shall allow
interested parties to a special use permit an opportunity to
present evidence and to cross-examine witnesses at the
hearing, but the county may impose reasonable restrictions on
the public hearing, including reasonable time limitations on
the presentation of evidence and the cross-examination of
witnesses. The county shall also allow public comment at the
public hearing in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. The
county shall make its siting and permitting decisions not more
than 30 days prior to a siting decision by the county board
after the conclusion of the public hearing. Notice of the
hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county. A commercial wind energy facility
owner, as defined in the Renewable Energy Facilities
Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act, must enter into an
agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department
of Agriculture prior to the date of the required public
hearing. A commercial wind energy facility owner seeking an
extension of a permit granted by a county prior to July 24,
2015 (the effective date of Public Act 99-132) must enter into

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an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the
Department of Agriculture prior to a decision by the county to
grant the permit extension. Counties may allow test wind
towers or test solar energy systems to be sited without formal
approval by the county board. Any provision of a county zoning
ordinance pertaining to wind farms, commercial wind energy
facilities, or commercial solar energy facilities that was in
effect before January 27, 2023 may continue in effect
notwithstanding any changes made in Public Act 102-1123 and,
if applicable, any provision of a county zoning ordinance
pertaining to wind farms that was in effect before August 16,
2007 may continue in effect notwithstanding the changes made
in Public Act 95-203.
(d) A county with an existing zoning ordinance in conflict
with this Section shall amend that zoning ordinance to be in
compliance with this Section within 120 days after January 27,
2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123).
(e) A county may not require a wind tower or other
renewable energy system that is used exclusively by an end
user to be setback more than 1.1 times the height of the
renewable energy system from the end user's property line. :
Only a county may establish standards for wind farms,
electric-generating wind devices, and commercial wind energy
facilities, as that term is defined in Section 10 of the
Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation
Act, in unincorporated areas of the county outside of the

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zoning jurisdiction of a municipality and outside the 1.5-mile
radius surrounding the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality.
(1) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility
to be sited as follows, with setback distances measured
from the center of the base of the wind tower:
Setback Description Setback Distance
Occupied Community 2.1 times the maximum blade tip
Buildings height of the wind tower to the
nearest point on the outside
wall of the structure
Participating Residences 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
height of the wind tower to the
nearest point on the outside
wall of the structure
Nonparticipating Residences 2.1 times the maximum blade tip
height of the wind tower to the
nearest point on the outside
wall of the structure
Boundary Lines of None
Participating Property

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Boundary Lines of 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
Nonparticipating Property height of the wind tower to the
nearest point on the property
line of the nonparticipating
property
Public Road Rights-of-Way 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
height of the wind tower
to the center point of the
public road right-of-way
Overhead Communication and 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
Electric Transmission height of the wind tower to the
and Distribution Facilities nearest edge of the property
(Not Including Overhead line, easement, or
Utility Service Lines to right-of-way
Individual Houses or containing the overhead line
Outbuildings)
Overhead Utility Service None
Lines to Individual
Houses or Outbuildings
Fish and Wildlife Areas 2.1 times the maximum blade
and Illinois Nature tip height of the wind tower
Preserve Commission to the nearest point on the

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Protected Lands property line of the fish and
wildlife area or protected
land
This Section does not exempt or excuse compliance with
electric facility clearances approved or required by the
National Electrical Code, The National Electrical Safety
Code, Illinois Commerce Commission, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, and their designees or successors.
(2) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility
to be sited so that industry standard computer modeling
indicates that any occupied community building or
nonparticipating residence will not experience more than
30 hours per year of shadow flicker under planned
operating conditions;
(3) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited as
follows, with setback distances measured from the nearest
edge of any component of the facility:
Setback Description Setback Distance
Occupied Community 150 feet from the nearest
Buildings and Dwellings on point on the outside wall
Nonparticipating Properties of the structure
Boundary Lines of None
Participating Property

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Public Road Rights-of-Way 50 feet from the nearest
edge
Boundary Lines of 50 feet to the nearest
Nonparticipating Property point on the property
line of the nonparticipating
property
(4) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so
that the facility's perimeter is enclosed by fencing
having a height of at least 6 feet and no more than 25
feet; and
(5) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so
that no component of a solar panel has a height of more
than 20 feet above ground when the solar energy facility's
arrays are at full tilt.
The requirements set forth in this subsection (e) may be
waived subject to the written consent of the owner of each
affected nonparticipating property.
(f) A county may not set a sound limitation for wind towers
in commercial wind energy facilities or any components in
commercial solar energy facilities that is more restrictive
than the sound limitations established by the Illinois
Pollution Control Board under 35 Ill. Adm. Code Parts 900,
901, and 910.

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(g) A county may not place any restriction on the
installation or use of a commercial wind energy facility or a
commercial solar energy facility unless it adopts an ordinance
that complies with this Section. A county may not establish
siting standards for supporting facilities that preclude
development of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial
solar energy facilities.
A request for siting approval or a special use permit for a
commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
facility, or modification of an approved siting or special use
permit, shall be approved if the request is in compliance with
the standards and conditions imposed in this Act, the zoning
ordinance adopted consistent with this Code, and the
conditions imposed under State and federal statutes and
regulations.
(h) A county may not adopt zoning regulations that
disallow, permanently or temporarily, commercial wind energy
facilities or commercial solar energy facilities from being
developed or operated in any district zoned to allow
agricultural or industrial uses.
(i) A county may not require permit application fees for a
commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy
facility that are unreasonable. All application fees imposed
by the county shall be consistent with fees for projects in the
county with similar capital value and cost.
(j) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a county

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shall not require standards for construction, decommissioning,
or deconstruction of a commercial wind energy facility or
commercial solar energy facility or related financial
assurances that are more restrictive than those included in
the Department of Agriculture's standard wind farm
agricultural impact mitigation agreement, template 81818, or
standard solar agricultural impact mitigation agreement,
version 8.19.19, as applicable and in effect on December 31,
2022. The amount of any decommissioning payment shall be in
accordance with the financial assurance required by those
agricultural impact mitigation agreements.
(j-5) A commercial wind energy facility or a commercial
solar energy facility shall file a farmland drainage plan with
the county and impacted drainage districts outlining how
surface and subsurface drainage of farmland will be restored
during and following construction or deconstruction of the
facility. The plan is to be created independently by the
facility developer and shall include the location of any
potentially impacted drainage district facilities to the
extent this information is publicly available from the county
or the drainage district, plans to repair any subsurface
drainage affected during construction or deconstruction using
procedures outlined in the agricultural impact mitigation
agreement entered into by the commercial wind energy facility
owner or commercial solar energy facility owner, and
procedures for the repair and restoration of surface drainage

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affected during construction or deconstruction. All surface
and subsurface damage shall be repaired as soon as reasonably
practicable.
(k) A county may not condition approval of a commercial
wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility on a
property value guarantee and may not require a facility owner
to pay into a neighboring property devaluation escrow account.
(l) A county may require certain vegetative screening
surrounding a commercial wind energy facility or commercial
solar energy facility but may not require earthen berms or
similar structures.
(m) A county may set blade tip height limitations for wind
towers in commercial wind energy facilities but may not set a
blade tip height limitation that is more restrictive than the
height allowed under a Determination of No Hazard to Air
Navigation by the Federal Aviation Administration under 14 CFR
Part 77.
(n) A county may require that a commercial wind energy
facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner
provide:
(1) the results and recommendations from consultation
with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that are
obtained through the Ecological Compliance Assessment Tool
(EcoCAT) or a comparable successor tool; and
(2) the results of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service's Information for Planning and Consulting

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environmental review or a comparable successor tool that
is consistent with (i) the "U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines" and (ii) any
applicable United States Fish and Wildlife Service solar
wildlife guidelines that have been subject to public
review.
(o) A county may require a commercial wind energy facility
or commercial solar energy facility to adhere to the
recommendations provided by the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources in an EcoCAT natural resource review report under 17
Ill. Adm. Code Part 1075.
(p) A county may require a facility owner to:
(1) demonstrate avoidance of protected lands as
identified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission; or
(2) consider the recommendations of the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources for setbacks from
protected lands, including areas identified by the
Illinois Nature Preserve Commission.
(q) A county may require that a facility owner provide
evidence of consultation with the Illinois State Historic
Preservation Office to assess potential impacts on
State-registered historic sites under the Illinois State
Agency Historic Resources Preservation Act.
(r) To maximize community benefits, including, but not
limited to, reduced stormwater runoff, flooding, and erosion

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at the ground mounted solar energy system, improved soil
health, and increased foraging habitat for game birds,
songbirds, and pollinators, a county may (1) require a
commercial solar energy facility owner to plant, establish,
and maintain for the life of the facility vegetative ground
cover, consistent with the goals of the Pollinator-Friendly
Solar Site Act and (2) require the submittal of a vegetation
management plan that is in compliance with the agricultural
impact mitigation agreement in the application to construct
and operate a commercial solar energy facility in the county
if the vegetative ground cover and vegetation management plan
comply with the requirements of the underlying agreement with
the landowner or landowners where the facility will be
constructed.
No later than 90 days after January 27, 2023 (the
effective date of Public Act 102-1123), the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources shall develop guidelines for
vegetation management plans that may be required under this
subsection for commercial solar energy facilities. The
guidelines must include guidance for short-term and long-term
property management practices that provide and maintain native
and non-invasive naturalized perennial vegetation to protect
the health and well-being of pollinators.
(s) If a facility owner enters into a road use agreement
with the Illinois Department of Transportation, a road
district, or other unit of local government relating to a

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commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
facility, the road use agreement shall require the facility
owner to be responsible for (i) the reasonable cost of
improving roads used by the facility owner to construct the
commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy
facility and (ii) the reasonable cost of repairing roads used
by the facility owner during construction of the commercial
wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
so that those roads are in a condition that is safe for the
driving public after the completion of the facility's
construction. Roadways improved in preparation for and during
the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or
commercial solar energy facility shall be repaired and
restored to the improved condition at the reasonable cost of
the developer if the roadways have degraded or were damaged as
a result of construction-related activities.
The road use agreement shall not require the facility
owner to pay costs, fees, or charges for road work that is not
specifically and uniquely attributable to the construction of
the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar
energy facility. Road-related fees, permit fees, or other
charges imposed by the Illinois Department of Transportation,
a road district, or other unit of local government under a road
use agreement with the facility owner shall be reasonably
related to the cost of administration of the road use
agreement.

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(s-5) The facility owner shall also compensate landowners
for crop losses or other agricultural damages resulting from
damage to the drainage system caused by the construction of
the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar
energy facility. The commercial wind energy facility owner or
commercial solar energy facility owner shall repair or pay for
the repair of all damage to the subsurface drainage system
caused by the construction of the commercial wind energy
facility or the commercial solar energy facility in accordance
with the agriculture impact mitigation agreement requirements
for repair of drainage. The commercial wind energy facility
owner or commercial solar energy facility owner shall repair
or pay for the repair and restoration of surface drainage
caused by the construction or deconstruction of the commercial
wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
as soon as reasonably practicable.
(t) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a facility
owner with siting approval from a county to construct a
commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
facility is authorized to cross or impact a drainage system,
including, but not limited to, drainage tiles, open drainage
ditches, culverts, and water gathering vaults, owned or under
the control of a drainage district under the Illinois Drainage
Code without obtaining prior agreement or approval from the
drainage district in accordance with the farmland drainage
plan required by subsection (j-5).

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(u) The amendments to this Section adopted in Public Act
102-1123 do not apply to: (1) an application for siting
approval or for a special use permit for a commercial wind
energy facility or commercial solar energy facility if the
application was submitted to a unit of local government before
January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123);
(2) a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar
energy facility if the facility owner has submitted an
agricultural impact mitigation agreement to the Department of
Agriculture before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of
Public Act 102-1123); or (3) a commercial wind energy or
commercial solar energy development on property that is
located within an enterprise zone certified under the Illinois
Enterprise Zone Act, that was classified as industrial by the
appropriate zoning authority on or before January 27, 2023,
and that is located within 4 miles of the intersection of
Interstate 88 and Interstate 39.
(Source: P.A. 102-1123, eff. 1-27-23; 103-81, eff. 6-9-23;
103-580, eff. 12-8-23; revised 7-29-24.)