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Putnam 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 Putnam County, county seat Hennepin.
Check land in Putnam 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 Putnam County?
The MISO and PJM interconnection queues list 7 proposed projects in Putnam County (2 solar, 1 solar plus storage, 3 wind, 1 battery storage), about 726 MW in all. 1 has a signed interconnection agreement.
What stands out in Putnam County
By capacity, solar leads in Putnam County with 320 MW across 2 projects, followed by wind (3 projects, 272 MW) and battery storage (1 project, 110 MW). The largest is queue number J2554, a 220 MW solar request in the MISO queue, in study (Phase 2), filed Sep 2022, with a target in-service date of Jun 2026. Of the 7, 5 are still in study, 1 has a signed agreement and 1 is suspended. 6 are in the MISO queue (Ameren territory) and 1 in PJM (ComEd territory), so Putnam County straddles both grids. Ameren Illinois is the transmission owner named most often (5 of 7). The requests were filed between Oct 2016 and Dec 2024. Target in-service dates for those not yet under construction span Jun 2021 to Nov 2027; 6 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the table: the queue number is the operator's ID for the request (MISO J-numbers, PJM AE/AF/AG-numbers); operators do not publish developer names in these files.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. 6 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J1200MISO · Ameren Illinois · Putnam 138kV Substation | Solar + storage | 24 | Agreement signed | Apr 2019 | Jun 2021 date passed; status per the operator |
| J2554MISO · · Putnam | Solar | 220 | In study (Phase 2) | Sep 2022 | Jun 2026 date passed; status per the operator |
| J2311MISO · Ameren Illinois · Putnam | Wind | 145 | In study (Phase 2) | Oct 2024 | Feb 2024 date passed; status per the operator |
| J2551MISO · Ameren Illinois · Putnam | Storage | 110 | In study (Phase 2) | Sep 2022 | Jun 2026 date passed; status per the operator |
| J2312MISO · Ameren Illinois · Putnam | Wind | 48 | In study (Phase 2) | Oct 2024 | Feb 2024 date passed; status per the operator |
| J3899MISO · Ameren Illinois · Other_ | Solar | 100 | In study (Phase 1) | Dec 2024 | Nov 2027 |
| AC1-168PJM · ComEd · Kewanee-Streator | Wind | 79 | Suspended | Oct 2016 | Oct 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 Putnam County require of a project?
Illinois law sets the ceiling: Putnam 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: On May 23, 2023, at a special meeting, the Putnam County Board voted 4–0 (one absent) to adopt Ordinance 23-O-4, a text amendment amending Sections 14.11, 14.12 and 14.13 of the county code on wind energy conversion systems and solar energy fields, on the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Commission. (Putnam County Board special meeting minutes, May 23, 2023)
State siting standardsFarmland agreement (AIMA)Property taxes
Who to contact in Putnam 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 Hennepin. A drainage district, if the land is in one, must receive the developer's drainage plan.
Putnam County websiteZoning and planning
Solar for homes and businesses in Putnam 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 Putnam 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).