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Coles County, Illinois: solar, wind, and storage projects and permits
Proposed projects, county offices, and the state rules for a solar, wind, or battery storage project in Coles County, county seat Charleston.
Check land in Coles 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 Coles County?
The MISO interconnection queue lists 7 proposed projects in Coles County (2 solar, 1 wind, 1 battery storage, 1 hybrid, 2 type not listed), about 1,295 MW in all. 1 has a signed interconnection agreement.
What stands out in Coles County
By capacity, solar leads in Coles County with 386 MW across 2 projects, followed by unlisted type (2 projects, 309 MW) and hybrid (1 project, 300 MW). The largest is queue number J2128, a 300 MW hybrid request in the MISO queue, in study (Phase 2), filed Aug 2021, with a target in-service date of Aug 2024. Of the 7, 6 are still in study and 1 has a signed agreement. All of them are in the MISO queue, which covers the Ameren Illinois side of the state. 1 of the requests spans more than one county. The requests were filed between Apr 2019 and Jul 2026. Target in-service dates for those not yet under construction span Jul 2022 to Dec 2028; 2 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the table: the queue number is the operator's ID for the request (MISO J-numbers, PJM AE/AF/AG-numbers); operators do not publish developer names in these files.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. 2 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.
| Queue number and connection | Type | MW | Stage | Requested | Target in-service iThe in-service date the developer gave the grid operator. Developers set and change it, many projects slip, and some are never built. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J1232MISO · Ameren Illinois · Chesterville - Mattoon West 138kV Line | Solar | 99 | Agreement signed | Apr 2019 | Jul 2022 date passed; status per the operator |
| J2128MISO · Ameren Illinois · 7ARLAND - 7FARADAY 345.0kV | Hybrid (solar, wind, or storage) | 300 | In study (Phase 2) | Aug 2021 | Aug 2024 date passed; status per the operator |
| J3012MISO · · Mattoon East | Solar | 287 | In study (Phase 2) | Sep 2022 | Nov 2026 |
| J3391MISO · Ameren Illinois · 7CASEY - 7KANSAS 345.0kV | Wind | 200 | In study (Phase 2) | Apr 2024 | Sep 2027 |
| J3968MISO · Ameren Illinois · Mattoon West | Storage | 100 | In study (Phase 1) | Mar 2025 | Sep 2028 |
| S1057MISO · Ameren Illinois · Neoga South · spans counties | Not listed | 210 | In study | Jul 2024 | Jul 2027 |
| S1167MISO · Ameren Illinois · Greenway 138 kV | Not listed | 99 | In study | Jul 2026 | Dec 2028 |
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 Coles County require of a project?
Illinois law sets the ceiling: Coles 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: The county posts its solar ordinance, a wind ordinance page, and application materials for pending solar projects. (Coles County solar page)
State siting standardsFarmland agreement (AIMA)Property taxes
Who to contact in Coles 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 Charleston. A drainage district, if the land is in one, must receive the developer's drainage plan.
Coles County websiteSupervisor of assessmentsZoning and planningCounty engineer and highways
Solar for homes and businesses in Coles 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 Coles County: Illinois agency list.
Get the land report for a spot
Flood zone, wetlands, nearest power line, soils, and more for any point. Parcel acreage fills in automatically in Texas and 26 other states (not Illinois, which has no statewide parcel layer).