Ford 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 Ford County, county seat Paxton.
Check land in Ford 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 Ford County?
The MISO and PJM interconnection queues list 5 proposed projects in Ford County (2 solar, 2 wind, 1 type not listed), about 1,735 MW in all. 2 have a signed interconnection agreement.
What stands out in Ford County
By capacity, wind leads in Ford County with 1,100 MW across 2 projects, followed by solar (2 projects, 500 MW) and unlisted type (1 project, 135 MW). The largest is queue number AD1-100, a 850 MW wind request in the PJM queue, under construction, filed Sep 2017, with a target in-service date of Nov 2026. Of the 5, 3 are still in study, 1 has a signed agreement and 1 is under construction. 4 are in the MISO queue (Ameren territory) and 1 in PJM (ComEd territory), so Ford County straddles both grids. Ameren Illinois is the transmission owner named most often (3 of 5). The requests were filed between Sep 2017 and May 2025. Target in-service dates for those not yet under construction span Sep 2025 to Jun 2029; 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the table: the queue number is the operator's ID for the request (MISO J-numbers, PJM AE/AF/AG-numbers); operators do not publish developer names in these files.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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AD1-100PJM · ComEd · Loretto-Wilton 345 kV & Braidwood-Davis Creek 345 kV | Wind | 850 | Under construction | Sep 2017 | Nov 2026 |
| S1041MISO · Ameren Illinois · Gibson City South (347114) | Not listed | 135 | Agreement signed | May 2023 | Apr 2026 date passed; status per the operator |
| J3412MISO · Ameren Illinois · Other_ | Solar | 300 | In study (Phase 2) | Mar 2024 | Sep 2028 |
| J3095MISO · · 4PAXTON - 4J845POI 138.0kV | Solar | 200 | In study (Phase 2) | Sep 2022 | Sep 2025 date passed; status per the operator |
| J4018MISO · Ameren Illinois · Other_ | Wind | 250 | In study (Phase 1) | May 2025 | Jun 2029 |
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 Ford County require of a project?
Illinois law sets the ceiling: Ford 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: In August 2024 the Ford County Board adopted an ordinance approving a special use permit for Archtop Solar II, LLC (Earthrise Energy) to build the Gibson City Energy Center – Solar 2, a commercial solar facility of up to 135 MWac on about 1,257 acres in Drummer Township, after the Zoning Board of Appeals recommended approval 5–0 on July 31, 2024. (Ford County Ordinance 24-61)
State siting standardsFarmland agreement (AIMA)Property taxes
Who to contact in Ford 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 Paxton. A drainage district, if the land is in one, must receive the developer's drainage plan.
Ford County websiteSupervisor of assessmentsZoning and planningCounty engineer and highways
Solar for homes and businesses in Ford 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 Ford 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).