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Hamilton 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 Hamilton County, county seat McLeansboro.
Check land in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County?
The MISO interconnection queue lists 3 proposed projects in Hamilton County (1 solar, 1 wind, 1 battery storage), about 540 MW in all. 0 have a signed interconnection agreement.
What stands out in Hamilton County
By capacity, battery storage leads in Hamilton County with 200 MW across 1 project, followed by wind (1 project, 200 MW) and solar (1 project, 140 MW). The largest is queue number J3296, a 200 MW battery storage request in the MISO queue, in study (Phase 2), filed Apr 2024, with a target in-service date of Jan 2027. Of the 3, 3 are still in study. All of them are in the MISO queue, which covers the Ameren Illinois side of the state. Ameren Illinois is the transmission owner named most often (2 of 3). Target in-service dates for those not yet under construction span Dec 2026 to Oct 2028.
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the table: the queue number is the operator's ID for the request (MISO J-numbers, PJM AE/AF/AG-numbers); operators do not publish developer names in these files.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.
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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J3296MISO · Southern Illinois Power Cooperative · Hamilton | Storage | 200 | In study (Phase 2) | Apr 2024 | Jan 2027 |
| J3338MISO · Ameren Illinois · 7W_FRFT_E - 7NORRIS 345.0kV | Wind | 200 | In study (Phase 2) | Apr 2024 | Oct 2028 |
| J3611MISO · Ameren Illinois · 7W_FRFT_E - 7NORRIS 345.0kV | Solar | 140 | In study (Phase 2) | Apr 2024 | Dec 2026 |
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 Hamilton County require of a project?
Illinois law sets the ceiling: Hamilton 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 noticed a hearing for May 27, 2026, on amendments to its solar and wind ordinances. (Hamilton County hearing notice)
State siting standardsFarmland agreement (AIMA)Property taxes
Who to contact in Hamilton 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 McLeansboro. A drainage district, if the land is in one, must receive the developer's drainage plan.
Hamilton County websiteSupervisor of assessmentsCounty engineer and highways
Solar for homes and businesses in Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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).