SitePath › Local intel › Illinois › McLean County

Illinois

Solar permitting — McLean County, Illinois

FIPS 17113

On file: public meetings, local news, known opposition groups.

McLean County, IL

Compliance: LowSolar ordinance on fileTrajectory: StableSaturation: High

Highest saturation in Illinois (tied with Bureau); deeply permissive culture; one of the top solar markets in the US by MW capacity under development. Permitting: McLean County: CUP or Special Use Permit in Agricultural; 150-ft max /…

Permitting process

Local permitting pathway

McLean County: CUP or Special Use Permit in Agricultural (A-1) district.

Setbacks & buffers

McLean County: PA 102-1123 statewide floor: ≥50 ft from property line; ≥150 ft from residence; ≥50 ft from ROW; ≤20 ft height.

Spacing requirements

None codified.

Size restrictions

None codified; managed via CUP/SUP conditions

Penalties & bonding

No penalties or adjustments. Standard CUP/SUP process.

State-level permits & approvals

Local permit: Special Use Permit (SUP) in A-1 Agricultural zoning via county Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and/or County Board; process and conditions vary by county ordinance. ICC CPCN: Illinois Public Utilities Act §8-406 — Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) Certificate of Public Convenience & Necessity required for ALL generating facilities >2 MW, regardless of local SUP status; ICC process runs parallel to county SUP. PA 102-1123 (signed Jan 27, 2023): Preempts county ordinances that prohibit wind or solar; sets state minimum setback floor of ≥150 ft from non-participating property lines and ≥300 ft from occupied dwellings. Counties may set higher setbacks but not lower; wind/solar bans enacted before 2023 are invalidated. PA 103-0580 (Veto Session fall 2023): Trailer bill reinforcing PA 102-1123 preemption framework; addressed specific county attempts to circumvent preemption. CEJA 2021 (Climate & Equitable Jobs Act): Illinois RPS targets — 40% by 2030, 50% by 2040, 100% clean energy by 2045; IPA Illinois Shines program administers FEJA/CEJA incentive tranches for community and utility-scale solar.

Full permitting requirements

Full records for this county are part of a SitePath subscription.

State policy & grid context

State RPS & clean energy policy

50% by 2040 (100% clean by 2045) | CEJA / PA 102-0662 (2021) | 3,000 MW IL Shines community solar target | 20 ILCS 3855

State incentive programs

Illinois Adjustable Block Program (Illinois Shines): 15-year SREC contracts for net-metered and community solar projects; administered by IL SHINES program. Solar for All (SFA): low-income community solar program with enhanced incentives. Illinois RPS: 50% renewable by 2040 (Future Energy Jobs Act); solar carve-out drives strong SREC demand. Net metering: available for ≤2 MW behind-the-meter systems (ComEd, Ameren IL). PACE financing: available in many IL counties. HB 4412 (2024): updated solar siting framework; county commission approval required for projects exceeding acreage thresholds in unincorporated areas. Utility: ComEd serves northern IL (Cook + 10 counties); Ameren Illinois serves central/southern IL; electric cooperatives serve rural downstate areas.

Grid & interconnection

MISO / Ameren Illinois Transmission (AIT) zone — Illinois's most interconnection-active county

Full state policy & grid detail

Full records for this county are part of a SitePath subscription.

Battery storage (BESS) P1 State-Default Permitting

No standalone county BESS ordinance confirmed.

Local BESS ordinances & bylaws

No county BESS ordinance on file; link points to the county zoning code. Governing body: McLean County, Illinois.

County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.

Community opposition P1

Organized opposition signals on record for this county — petitions, community groups, and oppositional coverage — each linked to its primary source.

Solar Power Solar2026-06-13 · wglt.org
Bloomington Approves 6 Month Moratorium On Data Centers General2026-05-27 · wglt.org
Bloomington To Consider Temporary Moratorium On Data Centers General2026-05-15 · wglt.org

SitePath maintains the most complete community-opposition dataset available, refreshed continuously from primary sources.

Subscriber intel Subscribers

Researched for this county and available with a subscription:

Project track record
Developer intelligence
Governing board

Energy-related meetings & dockets P1

data center · bess · solar · wind

Halo color matches the energy category tagged on each meeting.

2026-10-06 Transportation Board
BESS
Request approval of an escrow agreement for a Commercial Solar Energy Generating Facility and a Battery Energy Storage System.
agenda
2026-10-06 Zoning Board
Data Center
Data center regulations will be presented and discussed.
agenda
2026-09-17 County Board
Data Center
Request approval of an Emergency Appropriation Ordinance for the McLean County Fiscal Year 2026 Combined Annual Appropriation and Budget Ordinance for Fund 1001, Facilities Management 1041.
agenda

2026-09-14 Other
Data Center
Request approval of an Emergency Appropriation Ordinance for a data center project and a renewal of a lease agreement for telecommunications services.
agenda
2026-09-08 Transportation Board
Solar
Request for approval of a road use agreement with Towanda Renewables LLC for the Towanda Solar Farm.
agenda
2026-09-08 Other
Data Center
Request approval of an Emergency Appropriation Ordinance for the data center project
agenda
2026-09-01 Other
Data Center
Data center regulations will be presented and discussed.
agenda
2026-09-01 Zoning Board
Data Center
Data center regulations will be presented and discussed.
agenda
2026-08-13 County Board
BESS
The City of Bloomington's application to amend a zoning ordinance for a battery energy storage system was discussed.
agenda
2026-08-13 Other
BESS
The county approved a battery energy storage system and electric substation in the Agriculture District.
agenda
2026-08-05 Other
Data Center
Data center regulations will be presented and discussed.
agenda
2026-08-05 Other
BESS
McLean County staff recommends approval of a text amendment to the Zoning Ordinance for Battery Energy Storage Systems.
agenda
2026-08-04 Zoning Board
Data Center
Data center regulations will be presented and discussed.
agenda
2026-07-13 Other
Data Center
The County has consolidated purchases into a single purchase for COHESITY's datacenter, with COHE§ity 11493 SUNSET HiLLS P,OAD I SUITE l()C I RESTON…
agenda
2026-07-07 Transportation Board
BESS
The McLean County Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm.
agenda
2026-06-26 Zoning Board
Data Center
The County Board approved a data center proposal for McLean County.
agenda
2026-06-11 County Board
Data Center
The McLean County Board approved a data center project with conditions.
agenda
2026-06-11 Other
Data Center
Member Duffy expressed support for a Data Center Ordinance with strong regulations, but wished it had more discussion.
agenda
2026-06-08 Other
Wind
McLean County Regional Planning Commission approved a regional planning service agreement for their fiscal year July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.
agenda
2026-06-02 Transportation Board
Wind
The McLean County Planning Commission voted to approve a Road Use Agreement with Panther Grove 2 Wind Farm for wind farm development.
agenda
2026-06-02 Other
Data Center
The McLean County Zoning Ordinance is being amended to allow a data center, with staff recommending approval.
agenda
2026-05-14 County Board
Solar
Archtop Solar, LLC requests approval of an escrow agreement for a Commercial Solar Energy Generating Facility in McLean County.
agenda
2026-05-11 Other
Solar
Archtop Solar, LLC requests approval of an escrow agreement for a Commercial Solar Energy Generating Facility in McLean County.
agenda
2026-05-05 Transportation Board
Solar
Archtop Solar, LLC requests approval of an escrow agreement for a Commercial Solar Energy Generating Facility in McLean County.
agenda
2026-04-26 Zoning Board
BESS
The County Board will consider a special-use permit application for a commercial solar energy generating facility and battery energy storage system in the Agriculture District.
agenda
2026-04-16 County Board
BESS
The McLean County Planning Commission approved a special-use permit for a commercial solar energy generating facility and battery energy storage system in the Agriculture District.
agenda
2026-04-07 Other
BESS
A special use permit is requested for a commercial solar energy facility and battery energy storage system in the Agriculture District.
agenda
2026-03-26 Zoning Board
Data Center
The County Board voted to approve a data center proposal for McLean County
agenda
2026-03-12 County Board
Data Center
The McLean County Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for a 5 MW commercial solar energy generating facility on approximately 32 acres of an 80-acre property in the Agriculture District.
agenda
2026-03-03 Other
Data Center
The McLean County Zoning Ordinance is being amended to allow a data center, with staff recommending approval.
agenda

More energy-related meetings

Full records for this county are part of a SitePath subscription.

State PSC dockets P1

No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.

Local news P3

2026-09-03 Data Centers Contribute To Rising Energy Costs No Active Proposals In Mclean Countywglt.org
2026-08-24 Data Center Energy Consumption Raises Concerns About Long Term Costs And Reliabilitywvik.org
2026-08-19 Wind Farm Development Could Resume In Central Illinoiswglt.org

2026-06-22 Consultant From Normal Wants To Diversify The Data Center Discussion In Mclean Countywglt.org
2026-06-15 State Rep Sharon Chung Reflects On Media Protections Data Centers And More Following The Spring Legislative Sessionwsiu.org
2026-06-06 Trump Administration Blocks Illinois And National Wind Farm Developmentwsiu.org
2026-06-02 Bloomington Residents Put Questions On Data Centers Grocery Tax International Weapons To Nov Votewglt.org
2026-05-27 Bloomington Approves 6 Month Moratorium On Data Centerswglt.org
2026-05-15 Bloomington To Consider Temporary Moratorium On Data Centerswglt.org
2026-05-12 Mclean County Proposes Stricter Guidelines For Data Centers While Waiting For The State To Actwglt.org
2026-05-07 Bloomington Residents Speak Out Against Data Centers At Public Forumwglt.org
2026-04-27 Tidbits From Farmland Values Reportagrinews-pubs.com
2026-04-18 Bloomington Refutes Online Reports Of Planned Data Center Plans Public Forumswglt.org
2026-03-31 Bloomington And County Officials Say Data Centers Are Coming Yetwglt.org
2026-03-24 Bloomington Police Unveils Plans For 550K Federal Grant Updating Real Time Crime Data Centerwglt.org

More news items

Full records for this county are part of a SitePath subscription.

Explore every US county on the interactive map

Filter by grade, state, moratorium status, and compliance stringency. Compare counties side by side.

Open the county map → SitePath home All Illinois counties

Data sources: public agendas/minutes from local government sites; PSC dockets from state regulators; news from GDELT and curated RSS. Last refreshed 2026-10-08. See the county risk scorecard or the full Illinois permitting index.