Lake 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 Lake County, county seat Waukegan.
Check land in Lake 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 Lake County?
The PJM interconnection queue lists 5 proposed projects in Lake County (1 solar, 4 battery storage), about 2,055 MW in all. 0 have a signed interconnection agreement.
What stands out in Lake County
By capacity, battery storage leads in Lake County with 1,397 MW across 4 projects, followed by solar (1 project, 658 MW). The largest is queue number AH1-045, a 658 MW solar request in the PJM queue, in study, filed Jul 2021, with a target in-service date of Jun 2023. Of the 5, 5 are still in study. All of them are in the PJM queue, which covers the ComEd side of the state. The requests were filed between Nov 2019 and May 2023. Target in-service dates for those not yet under construction span Jun 2021 to Jun 2027; 3 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the table: the queue number is the operator's ID for the request (MISO J-numbers, PJM AE/AF/AG-numbers); operators do not publish developer names in these files.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. 3 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AH1-045PJM · ComEd · Zion Energy Center 345 kV | Solar | 658 | In study | Jul 2021 | Jun 2023 date passed; status per the operator |
| AF2-027PJM · ComEd · Zion Energy Center 345 kV | Storage | 635 | In study | Nov 2019 | Jun 2021 date passed; status per the operator |
| AJ1-012PJM · ComEd · Waukegan Unit 8 CIR Transfer | Storage | 354 | In study | May 2023 | Jun 2027 |
| AJ1-011PJM · ComEd · Waukegan Unit 7 CIR Transfer | Storage | 328 | In study | May 2023 | Jun 2027 |
| AH1-190PJM · ComEd · Waukegan 138 kV | Storage | 80 | In study | Sep 2021 | Jun 2025 date passed; status per the operator |
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 Lake County require of a project?
Illinois law sets the ceiling: Lake 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: Lake County's Planning, Building and Development Department posts a Commercial Solar Energy Systems page stating that ground-mounted systems selling electricity in unincorporated areas require a conditional use permit under Lake County Code sections 151.112(WW), 151.260 and Appendix T, with the final decision delegated by the County Board to the Zoning Board of Appeals. A public hearing must be held within 60 days of a complete application, and four affirmative ZBA votes are required for approval. (Lake County Commercial Solar Energy Systems page)
State siting standardsFarmland agreement (AIMA)Property taxes
Who to contact in Lake 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 Waukegan. A drainage district, if the land is in one, must receive the developer's drainage plan.
Lake County websiteSupervisor of assessmentsZoning and planningCounty engineer and highways
Solar for homes and businesses in Lake County
Illinois net metering, the Illinois Shines incentive, and HOA rules are the same statewide; ComEd 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 Lake 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).