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Adams County, Illinois: solar, wind, and storage projects and permits

Queue data downloaded October 7, 2026 · Rules checked October 17, 2026

Proposed projects, county offices, and the state rules for a solar, wind, or battery storage project in Adams County, county seat Quincy.

Check land in Adams CountyOpens the land report with the map on the county; click a spot for its flood, wetland, habitat, line-distance and parcel check.

What energy projects are proposed in Adams County?

The MISO and PJM interconnection queues list 9 proposed projects in Adams County (3 solar, 1 solar plus storage, 5 battery storage), about 1,468 MW in all. 0 have a signed interconnection agreement.

What stands out in Adams County

By capacity, battery storage leads in Adams County with 908 MW across 5 projects, followed by solar (3 projects, 410 MW) and solar paired with storage (1 project, 150 MW). The largest is queue number AF2-394 - moved to TC1, a 299 MW battery storage request in the PJM queue, in study, filed Mar 2020, with a target in-service date of Sep 2024. Of the 9, 9 are still in study. 6 are in the MISO queue (Ameren territory) and 3 in PJM (ComEd territory), so Adams County straddles both grids. Ameren Illinois is the transmission owner named most often (5 of 9). The requests were filed between Mar 2020 and Sep 2022. Target in-service dates for those not yet under construction span Dec 2022 to Sep 2028; 8 of them have already passed, which means those schedules slipped.

A listing means a developer asked the grid operator to study connecting a project; many are never built, and the status column says where each one stands.

Reading the table: the queue number is the operator's ID for the request (MISO J-numbers, PJM AE/AF/AG-numbers); operators do not publish developer names in these files. Connection is the transmission owner and, where listed, the substation or line; "Other_" is the operator's own placeholder. In study (Phase 1/2) are MISO's definitive-planning study phases; "moved to TC1" means a PJM request was carried into Transition Cycle 1; "CIR Increase" is a request to add capacity rights to an existing project; "LRTP" names a MISO long-range transmission project. For PJM rows, MW is the figure in the megawatt column of PJM's public queue export; PJM also tracks maximum facility output and capacity rights separately, so a project's study documents can show a different number. 8 target in-service dates below have already passed while the request is still open: operators keep the developer's last reported date until the developer changes it, so a past date means the schedule slipped, not that the project was built.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Sources: MISO generator interconnection queue and PJM interconnection queue, downloaded October 7, 2026; withdrawn and operating projects are left out, and the operators do not publish developer names. What the stages mean.

What can Adams County require of a project?

Illinois law sets the ceiling: Adams County must approve a commercial wind or solar project that meets the state standards, must finish its public hearing within 60 days, and may not ban them in agricultural or industrial zones (55 ILCS 5/5-12020); battery storage has had its own statewide standards since June 1, 2026 (55 ILCS 5/5-12024). Land inside a city or village falls under municipal zoning instead.

Recent local action: Adams County adopted Ordinance No. 2025-03-001-018, the Adams County Solar Energy Facility Ordinance, on March 11, 2025. It sets a 150-foot setback from nonparticipating dwellings and 50 feet from road rights-of-way and nonparticipating property lines, and requires a decommissioning plan and financial assurance before a building permit. (Adams County Solar Energy Facility Ordinance)

State siting standardsFarmland agreement (AIMA)Property taxes

Who to contact in Adams County

Assessment questions go to the supervisor of assessments, special use applications to the zoning office, and road use agreements to the county engineer; the county seat is Quincy. A drainage district, if the land is in one, must receive the developer's drainage plan.

Adams County websiteSupervisor of assessmentsZoning and planningCounty engineer and highways

Solar for homes and businesses in Adams County

Illinois net metering, the Illinois Shines incentive, and HOA rules are the same statewide; Ameren Illinois sets the application steps here: Illinois home and business solar rules · utility application links.

State and federal reviews

Illinois EPA stormwater coverage, IDNR's EcoCAT review, historic preservation review, and federal wildlife screening can apply to a site in Adams County: Illinois agency list.