Struck = removed from the bill ยท
added = the amendment's new text.
*LRB10419421AAS32869b**LRB10419421AAS37876a* SB3922 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois and 2026 SB3922 Introduced 2/6/2026, by Sen.
Steve Stadelman SYNOPSISFiled: AS INTRODUCED:
See5/15/2026 Index10400SB3922sam003 AmendsLRB104 the19421 PublicAAS Utilities37876 Act.a AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3922 AMENDMENT NO.
In______. provisions concerning virtual power plant programs, provides that, in setting the values of upfront payment and performance payment compensation under the provisions, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall set values for eligible systems that include energy storage that are, taking into account the time value of money, not less than:
(A)Amend forSenate anBill eligible3922 systemon thatpage did59, notlines receive9 and agrees10, notby todeleting apply"or forrequirements a rebate for its storage component under specified provisions, $250 per kilowatt-hour nameplate capacity paid on the date the system is placed in service;other laws";
orand (B)on forpage an59, eligibleline system13, thatby receiveddeleting a"or rebaterequirements for its storage component under specified provisions,in $0other perlaws"; kilowatt-hour.
In provisions concerning distributed generation and storageon rebates,page provides59, that,line until20, theby laterdeleting of"or Decemberrequirements 31, 2029 or the threshold date (rather than until December 31, 2029), the value of specified rebatesin shallother belaws". $300 per kilowatt of nameplate generating capacity, measured as nominal DC power output, of the distributed generation.
Amends the Counties Code.
In provisions concerning setback distances for commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities, specifies that the ability of a county to require a reasonable setback distance between fencing and public rights-of-way if the requirement is not specific to commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities and does not preclude the development of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities or the ability of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities to comply with the requirements set forth in the provisions shall not exceed 50 feet between fencing and public rights-of-way.
Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act.
Provides that a "community renewable generation project" means an electric generating facility that, among other things, is limited in nameplate capacity to less than or equal to 5,000 kilowatts (rather than 10,000 kilowatts).
Makes other changes.
LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b A BILL FOR SB3922 LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5.
The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by changing Section 1-10 as follows:
(20 ILCS 3855/1-10) (Text of Section before amendment by P.A.
104-458) Sec.
1-10.
Definitions.
"Agency" means the Illinois Power Agency.
"Agency loan agreement" means any agreement pursuant to which the Illinois Finance Authority agrees to loan the proceeds of revenue bonds issued with respect to a project to the Agency upon terms providing for loan repayment installments at least sufficient to pay when due all principal of, interest and premium, if any, on those revenue bonds, and providing for maintenance, insurance, and other matters in respect of the project.
"Authority" means the Illinois Finance Authority.
"Brownfield site photovoltaic project" means photovoltaics that are either:
(1) interconnected to an electric utility as defined in this Section, a municipal utility as defined in this Section, a public utility as defined in Section 3-105 of SB3922 - 2 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b the Public Utilities Act, or an electric cooperative as defined in Section 3-119 of the Public Utilities Act and located at a site that is regulated by any of the following entities under the following programs:
(A) the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended;
(B) the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Corrective Action Program of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended;
(C) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under the Illinois Site Remediation Program;
or (D) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under the Illinois Solid Waste Program;
or (2) located at the site of a coal mine that has permanently ceased coal production, permanently halted any re-mining operations, and is no longer accepting any coal combustion residues;
has both completed all clean-up and remediation obligations under the federal Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1977 and all applicable Illinois rules and any other clean-up, remediation, or ongoing monitoring to safeguard the health and well-being of the people of the State of Illinois, as well as demonstrated compliance with all applicable federal and State SB3922 - 3 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b environmental rules and regulations, including, but not limited, to 35 Ill.
Adm.
Code Part 845 and any rules for historic fill of coal combustion residuals, including any rules finalized in Subdocket A of Illinois Pollution Control Board docket R2020-019.
"Clean coal facility" means an electric generating facility that uses primarily coal as a feedstock and that captures and sequesters carbon dioxide emissions at the following levels:
at least 50% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit if, at the time construction commences, the facility is scheduled to commence operation before 2016, at least 70% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit if, at the time construction commences, the facility is scheduled to commence operation during 2016 or 2017, and at least 90% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit if, at the time construction commences, the facility is scheduled to commence operation after 2017.
The power block of the clean coal facility shall not exceed allowable emission rates for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulates and mercury for a natural gas-fired combined-cycle facility the same size as and in the same location as the clean coal facility at the time the clean coal facility obtains an approved air permit.
All coal used by a clean coal facility shall have high volatile bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per SB3922 - 4 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b million Btu content, unless the clean coal facility does not use gasification technology and was operating as a conventional coal-fired electric generating facility on June 1, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 95-1027).
"Clean coal SNG brownfield facility" means a facility that (1) has commenced construction by July 1, 2015 on an urban brownfield site in a municipality with at least 1,000,000 residents;
(2) uses a gasification process to produce substitute natural gas;
(3) uses coal as at least 50% of the total feedstock over the term of any sourcing agreement with a utility and the remainder of the feedstock may be either petroleum coke or coal, with all such coal having a high bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per million Btu content unless the facility reasonably determines that it is necessary to use additional petroleum coke to deliver additional consumer savings, in which case the facility shall use coal for at least 35% of the total feedstock over the term of any sourcing agreement;
and (4) captures and sequesters at least 85% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit.
"Clean coal SNG facility" means a facility that uses a gasification process to produce substitute natural gas, that sequesters at least 90% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit, that uses at least 90% coal as a feedstock, with all such coal having a high bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per SB3922 - 5 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b million Btu content, and that has a valid and effective permit to construct emission sources and air pollution control equipment and approval with respect to the federal regulations for Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality (PSD) for the plant pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act;
provided, however, a clean coal SNG brownfield facility shall not be a clean coal SNG facility.
"Clean energy" means energy generation that is 90% or greater free of carbon dioxide emissions.
"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.
"Community renewable generation project" means an electric generating facility that:
(1) is powered by wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells or panels, biodiesel, crops and untreated and unadulterated organic waste biomass, and hydropower that does not involve new construction of dams;
(2) is interconnected at the distribution system level of an electric utility as defined in this Section, a municipal utility as defined in this Section that owns or operates electric distribution facilities, a public utility as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, or an electric cooperative, as defined in Section 3-119 of the Public Utilities Act;
(3) credits the value of electricity generated by the facility to the subscribers of the facility;
and (4) is limited in nameplate capacity to less than or SB3922 - 6 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b equal to 5,000 kilowatts.
"Costs incurred in connection with the development and construction of a facility" means:
(1) the cost of acquisition of all real property, fixtures, and improvements in connection therewith and equipment, personal property, and other property, rights, and easements acquired that are deemed necessary for the operation and maintenance of the facility;
(2) financing costs with respect to bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness of the Agency;
(3) all origination, commitment, utilization, facility, placement, underwriting, syndication, credit enhancement, and rating agency fees;
(4) engineering, design, procurement, consulting, legal, accounting, title insurance, survey, appraisal, escrow, trustee, collateral agency, interest rate hedging, interest rate swap, capitalized interest, contingency, as required by lenders, and other financing costs, and other expenses for professional services;
and (5) the costs of plans, specifications, site study and investigation, installation, surveys, other Agency costs and estimates of costs, and other expenses necessary or incidental to determining the feasibility of any project, together with such other expenses as may be necessary or incidental to the financing, insuring, acquisition, and construction of a specific project and starting up, SB3922 - 7 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b commissioning, and placing that project in operation.
"Delivery services" has the same definition as found in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Delivery year" means the consecutive 12-month period beginning June 1 of a given year and ending May 31 of the following year.
"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Power Agency.
"Demand-response" means measures that decrease peak electricity demand or shift demand from peak to off-peak periods.
"Distributed renewable energy generation device" means a device that is:
(1) powered by wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells or panels, biodiesel, crops and untreated and unadulterated organic waste biomass, tree waste, and hydropower that does not involve new construction of dams, waste heat to power systems, or qualified combined heat and power systems;
(2) interconnected at the distribution system level of either an electric utility as defined in this Section, a municipal utility as defined in this Section that owns or operates electric distribution facilities, or a rural electric cooperative as defined in Section 3-119 of the SB3922 - 8 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Public Utilities Act;
(3) located on the customer side of the customer's electric meter and is primarily used to offset that customer's electricity load;
and (4) (blank).
"Energy efficiency" means measures that reduce the amount of electricity or natural gas consumed in order to achieve a given end use.
"Energy efficiency" includes voltage optimization measures that optimize the voltage at points on the electric distribution voltage system and thereby reduce electricity consumption by electric customers' end use devices.
"Energy efficiency" also includes measures that reduce the total Btus of electricity, natural gas, and other fuels needed to meet the end use or uses.
"Electric utility" has the same definition as found in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Equity investment eligible community" or "eligible community" are synonymous and mean the geographic areas throughout Illinois which would most benefit from equitable investments by the State designed to combat discrimination.
Specifically, the eligible communities shall be defined as the following areas:
(1) R3 Areas as established pursuant to Section 10-40 of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, where residents have historically been excluded from economic opportunities, including opportunities in the energy SB3922 - 9 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b sector;
and (2) environmental justice communities, as defined by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to the Illinois Power Agency Act, where residents have historically been subject to disproportionate burdens of pollution, including pollution from the energy sector.
"Equity eligible persons" or "eligible persons" means persons who would most benefit from equitable investments by the State designed to combat discrimination, specifically:
(1) persons who graduate from or are current or former participants in the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program, the Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, the Illinois Climate Works Preapprenticeship Program, Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program, or the Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program, and the solar training pipeline and multi-cultural jobs program created in paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(3) of Section 16-208.12 of the Public Utilities Act;
(2) persons who are graduates of or currently enrolled in the foster care system;
(3) persons who were formerly incarcerated;
(4) persons whose primary residence is in an equity investment eligible community.
"Equity eligible contractor" means a business that is majority-owned by eligible persons, or a nonprofit or cooperative that is majority-governed by eligible persons, or SB3922 - 10 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b is a natural person that is an eligible person offering personal services as an independent contractor.
"Facility" means an electric generating unit or a co-generating unit that produces electricity along with related equipment necessary to connect the facility to an electric transmission or distribution system.
"General contractor" means the entity or organization with main responsibility for the building of a construction project and who is the party signing the prime construction contract for the project.
"Governmental aggregator" means one or more units of local government that individually or collectively procure electricity to serve residential retail electrical loads located within its or their jurisdiction.
"High voltage direct current converter station" means the collection of equipment that converts direct current energy from a high voltage direct current transmission line into alternating current using Voltage Source Conversion technology and that is interconnected with transmission or distribution assets located in Illinois.
"High voltage direct current renewable energy credit" means a renewable energy credit associated with a renewable energy resource where the renewable energy resource has entered into a contract to transmit the energy associated with such renewable energy credit over high voltage direct current transmission facilities.
SB3922 - 11 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b "High voltage direct current transmission facilities" means the collection of installed equipment that converts alternating current energy in one location to direct current and transmits that direct current energy to a high voltage direct current converter station using Voltage Source Conversion technology.
"High voltage direct current transmission facilities" includes the high voltage direct current converter station itself and associated high voltage direct current transmission lines.
Notwithstanding the preceding, after September 15, 2021 (the effective date of Public Act 102-662), an otherwise qualifying collection of equipment does not qualify as high voltage direct current transmission facilities unless its developer entered into a project labor agreement, is capable of transmitting electricity at 525kv with an Illinois converter station located and interconnected in the region of the PJM Interconnection, LLC, and the system does not operate as a public utility, as that term is defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Hydropower" means any method of electricity generation or storage that results from the flow of water, including impoundment facilities, diversion facilities, and pumped storage facilities.
"Index price" means the real-time energy settlement price at the applicable Illinois trading hub, such as PJM-NIHUB or MISO-IL, for a given settlement period.
SB3922 - 12 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b "Indexed renewable energy credit" means a tradable credit that represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt hour of energy produced from a renewable energy resource, the price of which shall be calculated by subtracting the strike price offered by a new utility-scale wind project or a new utility-scale photovoltaic project from the index price in a given settlement period.
"Indexed renewable energy credit counterparty" has the same meaning as "public utility" as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Local government" means a unit of local government as defined in Section 1 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
"Modernized" or "retooled" means the construction, repair, maintenance, or significant expansion of turbines and existing hydropower dams.
"Municipality" means a city, village, or incorporated town.
"Municipal utility" means a public utility owned and operated by any subdivision or municipal corporation of this State.
"Nameplate capacity" means the aggregate inverter nameplate capacity in kilowatts AC.
"Person" means any natural person, firm, partnership, corporation, either domestic or foreign, company, association, limited liability company, joint stock company, or association SB3922 - 13 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof.
"Project" means the planning, bidding, and construction of a facility.
"Project labor agreement" means a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that covers all terms and conditions of employment on a specific construction project and must include the following:
(1) provisions establishing the minimum hourly wage for each class of labor organization employee;
(2) provisions establishing the benefits and other compensation for each class of labor organization employee;
(3) provisions establishing that no strike or disputes will be engaged in by the labor organization employees;
(4) provisions establishing that no lockout or disputes will be engaged in by the general contractor building the project;
and (5) provisions for minorities and women, as defined under the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act, setting forth goals for apprenticeship hours to be performed by minorities and women and setting forth goals for total hours to be performed by underrepresented minorities and women.
A labor organization and the general contractor building the project shall have the authority to include other terms SB3922 - 14 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b and conditions as they deem necessary.
"Public utility" has the same definition as found in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Qualified combined heat and power systems" means systems that, either simultaneously or sequentially, produce electricity and useful thermal energy from a single fuel source.
Such systems are eligible for "renewable energy credits" in an amount equal to its total energy output where a renewable fuel is consumed or in an amount equal to the net reduction in nonrenewable fuel consumed on a total energy output basis.
"Real property" means any interest in land together with all structures, fixtures, and improvements thereon, including lands under water and riparian rights, any easements, covenants, licenses, leases, rights-of-way, uses, and other interests, together with any liens, judgments, mortgages, or other claims or security interests related to real property.
"Renewable energy credit" means a tradable credit that represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt hour of energy produced from a renewable energy resource.
"Renewable energy resources" includes energy and its associated renewable energy credit or renewable energy credits from wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells and panels, biodiesel, anaerobic digestion, crops and untreated and unadulterated organic waste biomass, and hydropower that does not involve new construction of dams, waste heat to power SB3922 - 15 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b systems, or qualified combined heat and power systems.
For purposes of this Act, landfill gas produced in the State is considered a renewable energy resource.
"Renewable energy resources" does not include the incineration or burning of tires, garbage, general household, institutional, and commercial waste, industrial lunchroom or office waste, landscape waste, railroad crossties, utility poles, or construction or demolition debris, other than untreated and unadulterated waste wood.
"Renewable energy resources" also includes high voltage direct current renewable energy credits and the associated energy converted to alternating current by a high voltage direct current converter station to the extent that:
(1) the generator of such renewable energy resource contracted with a third party to transmit the energy over the high voltage direct current transmission facilities, and (2) the third-party contracting for delivery of renewable energy resources over the high voltage direct current transmission facilities have ownership rights over the unretired associated high voltage direct current renewable energy credit.
"Retail customer" has the same definition as found in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Revenue bond" means any bond, note, or other evidence of indebtedness issued by the Authority, the principal and interest of which is payable solely from revenues or income derived from any project or activity of the Agency.
"Sequester" means permanent storage of carbon dioxide by SB3922 - 16 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b injecting it into a saline aquifer, a depleted gas reservoir, or an oil reservoir, directly or through an enhanced oil recovery process that may involve intermediate storage, regardless of whether these activities are conducted by a clean coal facility, a clean coal SNG facility, a clean coal SNG brownfield facility, or a party with which a clean coal facility, clean coal SNG facility, or clean coal SNG brownfield facility has contracted for such purposes.
"Service area" has the same definition as found in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Settlement period" means the period of time utilized by MISO and PJM and their successor organizations as the basis for settlement calculations in the real-time energy market.
"Sourcing agreement" means (i) in the case of an electric utility, an agreement between the owner of a clean coal facility and such electric utility, which agreement shall have terms and conditions meeting the requirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of Section 1-75, (ii) in the case of an alternative retail electric supplier, an agreement between the owner of a clean coal facility and such alternative retail electric supplier, which agreement shall have terms and conditions meeting the requirements of Section 16-115(d)(5) of the Public Utilities Act, and (iii) in case of a gas utility, an agreement between the owner of a clean coal SNG brownfield facility and the gas utility, which agreement shall have the terms and conditions meeting the requirements of subsection SB3922 - 17 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b (h-1) of Section 9-220 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Strike price" means a contract price for energy and renewable energy credits from a new utility-scale wind project or a new utility-scale photovoltaic project.
"Subscriber" means a person who (i) takes delivery service from an electric utility, and (ii) has a subscription of no less than 200 watts to a community renewable generation project that is located in the electric utility's service area.
No subscriber's subscriptions may total more than 40% of the nameplate capacity of an individual community renewable generation project.
Entities that are affiliated by virtue of a common parent shall not represent multiple subscriptions that total more than 40% of the nameplate capacity of an individual community renewable generation project.
"Subscription" means an interest in a community renewable generation project expressed in kilowatts, which is sized primarily to offset part or all of the subscriber's electricity usage.
"Substitute natural gas" or "SNG" means a gas manufactured by gasification of hydrocarbon feedstock, which is substantially interchangeable in use and distribution with conventional natural gas.
"Total resource cost test" or "TRC test" means a standard that is met if, for an investment in energy efficiency or demand-response measures, the benefit-cost ratio is greater than one.
The benefit-cost ratio is the ratio of the net SB3922 - 18 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b present value of the total benefits of the program to the net present value of the total costs as calculated over the lifetime of the measures.
A total resource cost test compares the sum of avoided electric utility costs, representing the benefits that accrue to the system and the participant in the delivery of those efficiency measures and including avoided costs associated with reduced use of natural gas or other fuels, avoided costs associated with reduced water consumption, and avoided costs associated with reduced operation and maintenance costs, as well as other quantifiable societal benefits, to the sum of all incremental costs of end-use measures that are implemented due to the program (including both utility and participant contributions), plus costs to administer, deliver, and evaluate each demand-side program, to quantify the net savings obtained by substituting the demand-side program for supply resources.
In calculating avoided costs of power and energy that an electric utility would otherwise have had to acquire, reasonable estimates shall be included of financial costs likely to be imposed by future regulations and legislation on emissions of greenhouse gases.
In discounting future societal costs and benefits for the purpose of calculating net present values, a societal discount rate based on actual, long-term Treasury bond yields should be used.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the TRC test shall not include or take into account a calculation of market price suppression effects or demand reduction SB3922 - 19 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b induced price effects.
"Utility-scale solar project" means an electric generating facility that:
(1) generates electricity using photovoltaic cells;
and (2) has a nameplate capacity that is greater than 5,000 kilowatts.
"Utility-scale wind project" means an electric generating facility that:
(1) generates electricity using wind;
and (2) has a nameplate capacity that is greater than 5,000 kilowatts.
"Waste Heat to Power Systems" means systems that capture and generate electricity from energy that would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere without the use of additional fuel.
"Zero emission credit" means a tradable credit that represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt hour of energy produced from a zero emission facility.
"Zero emission facility" means a facility that:
(1) is fueled by nuclear power;
and (2) is interconnected with PJM Interconnection, LLC or the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., or their successors.
(Source:
P.A.
102-662, eff.
9-15-21;
103-154, eff.
6-28-23;
103-380, eff.
1-1-24.) (Text of Section after amendment by P.A.
104-458) SB3922 - 20 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Sec.
1-10.
Definitions.
"Agency" means the Illinois Power Agency.
"Agency loan agreement" means any agreement pursuant to which the Illinois Finance Authority agrees to loan the proceeds of revenue bonds issued with respect to a project to the Agency upon terms providing for loan repayment installments at least sufficient to pay when due all principal of, interest and premium, if any, on those revenue bonds, and providing for maintenance, insurance, and other matters in respect of the project.
"Authority" means the Illinois Finance Authority.
"Brownfield site photovoltaic project" means photovoltaics that are either:
(1) interconnected to an electric utility as defined in this Section, a municipal utility as defined in this Section, a public utility as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, or an electric cooperative as defined in Section 3-119 of the Public Utilities Act and located at a site that is regulated by any of the following entities under the following programs:
(A) the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended;
(B) the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Corrective Action Program of the SB3922 - 21 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended;
(C) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under the Illinois Site Remediation Program;
or (D) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under the Illinois Solid Waste Program;
or (2) located at the site of a coal mine that has permanently ceased coal production, permanently halted any re-mining operations, and is no longer accepting any coal combustion residues;
has both completed all clean-up and remediation obligations under the federal Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1977 and all applicable Illinois rules and any other clean-up, remediation, or ongoing monitoring to safeguard the health and well-being of the people of the State of Illinois, as well as demonstrated compliance with all applicable federal and State environmental rules and regulations, including, but not limited, to, 35 Ill.
Adm.
Code Part 845 and any rules for historic fill of coal combustion residuals, including any rules finalized in Subdocket A of Illinois Pollution Control Board docket R2020-019.
"Clean coal facility" means an electric generating facility that uses primarily coal as a feedstock and that captures and sequesters carbon dioxide emissions at the following levels:
at least 50% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit if, at the SB3922 - 22 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b time construction commences, the facility is scheduled to commence operation before 2016, at least 70% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit if, at the time construction commences, the facility is scheduled to commence operation during 2016 or 2017, and at least 90% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit if, at the time construction commences, the facility is scheduled to commence operation after 2017.
The power block of the clean coal facility shall not exceed allowable emission rates for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulates and mercury for a natural gas-fired combined-cycle facility the same size as and in the same location as the clean coal facility at the time the clean coal facility obtains an approved air permit.
All coal used by a clean coal facility shall have high volatile bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per million Btu content, unless the clean coal facility does not use gasification technology and was operating as a conventional coal-fired electric generating facility on June 1, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 95-1027).
"Clean coal SNG brownfield facility" means a facility that (1) has commenced construction by July 1, 2015 on an urban brownfield site in a municipality with at least 1,000,000 residents;
(2) uses a gasification process to produce substitute natural gas;
(3) uses coal as at least 50% of the total feedstock over the term of any sourcing agreement with a SB3922 - 23 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b utility and the remainder of the feedstock may be either petroleum coke or coal, with all such coal having a high bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per million Btu content unless the facility reasonably determines that it is necessary to use additional petroleum coke to deliver additional consumer savings, in which case the facility shall use coal for at least 35% of the total feedstock over the term of any sourcing agreement;
and (4) captures and sequesters at least 85% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit.
"Clean coal SNG facility" means a facility that uses a gasification process to produce substitute natural gas, that sequesters at least 90% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit, that uses at least 90% coal as a feedstock, with all such coal having a high bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per million Btu content, and that has a valid and effective permit to construct emission sources and air pollution control equipment and approval with respect to the federal regulations for Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality (PSD) for the plant pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act;
provided, however, a clean coal SNG brownfield facility shall not be a clean coal SNG facility.
"Clean energy" means energy generation that is 90% or greater free of carbon dioxide emissions.
"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.
SB3922 - 24 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b "Community renewable generation project" means an electric generating facility that:
(1) is powered by wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells or panels, biodiesel, crops and untreated and unadulterated organic waste biomass, and hydropower that does not involve new construction of dams;
(2) is interconnected at the distribution system level of an electric utility as defined in this Section, a municipal utility as defined in this Section that owns or operates electric distribution facilities, a public utility as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, or an electric cooperative, as defined in Section 3-119 of the Public Utilities Act;
(3) credits the value of electricity generated by the facility to the subscribers of the facility;
and (4) is limited in nameplate capacity to less than or equal to 5,000 10,000 kilowatts.
"Costs incurred in connection with the development and construction of a facility" means:
(1) the cost of acquisition of all real property, fixtures, and improvements in connection therewith and equipment, personal property, and other property, rights, and easements acquired that are deemed necessary for the operation and maintenance of the facility;
(2) financing costs with respect to bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness of the Agency;
SB3922 - 25 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b (3) all origination, commitment, utilization, facility, placement, underwriting, syndication, credit enhancement, and rating agency fees;
(4) engineering, design, procurement, consulting, legal, accounting, title insurance, survey, appraisal, escrow, trustee, collateral agency, interest rate hedging, interest rate swap, capitalized interest, contingency, as required by lenders, and other financing costs, and other expenses for professional services;
and (5) the costs of plans, specifications, site study and investigation, installation, surveys, other Agency costs and estimates of costs, and other expenses necessary or incidental to determining the feasibility of any project, together with such other expenses as may be necessary or incidental to the financing, insuring, acquisition, and construction of a specific project and starting up, commissioning, and placing that project in operation.
"Delivery services" has the same definition as found in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Delivery year" means the consecutive 12-month period beginning June 1 of a given year and ending May 31 of the following year.
"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Power Agency.
SB3922 - 26 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b "Demand response" means measures that decrease peak electricity demand or shift demand from peak to off-peak periods.
"Distributed renewable energy generation device" means a device that is:
(1) powered by wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells or panels, biodiesel, crops and untreated and unadulterated organic waste biomass, tree waste, and hydropower that does not involve new construction of dams, waste heat to power systems, or qualified combined heat and power systems;
(2) interconnected at the distribution system level of either an electric utility as defined in this Section, a municipal utility as defined in this Section that owns or operates electric distribution facilities, or a rural electric cooperative as defined in Section 3-119 of the Public Utilities Act;
(3) located on the customer side of the customer's electric meter and is primarily used to offset that customer's electricity load;
and (4) (blank).
"Energy efficiency" means measures that reduce the amount of electricity or natural gas consumed in order to achieve a given end use.
"Energy efficiency" includes voltage optimization measures that optimize the voltage at points on the electric distribution voltage system and thereby reduce SB3922 - 27 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b electricity consumption by electric customers' end use devices.
"Energy efficiency" also includes measures that reduce the total Btus of electricity, natural gas, and other fuels needed to meet the end use or uses.
"Energy storage system" has the meaning given to that term in Section 16-135 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Energy storage system" does not include technologies that require combustion.
"Energy storage resources" means the operational output or capabilities of energy storage systems.
"Energy storage resources" includes, but is not limited to, energy, capacity, and energy storage credits.
"Electric utility" has the same definition as found in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Equity investment eligible community" or "eligible community" are synonymous and mean the geographic areas throughout Illinois which would most benefit from equitable investments by the State designed to combat discrimination.
Specifically, the eligible communities shall be defined as the following areas:
(1) R3 Areas as established pursuant to Section 10-40 of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, where residents have historically been excluded from economic opportunities, including opportunities in the energy sector;
and (2) environmental justice communities, as defined by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to the Illinois Power SB3922 - 28 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Agency Act, where residents have historically been subject to disproportionate burdens of pollution, including pollution from the energy sector.
"Equity eligible persons" or "eligible persons" means persons who would most benefit from equitable investments by the State designed to combat discrimination, specifically:
(1) persons who graduate from or are current or former participants in the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program, the Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, the Illinois Climate Works Preapprenticeship Program, Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program, or the Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program, and the solar training pipeline and multi-cultural jobs program created in paragraphs (1) and (3) of subsection (a) of Section 16-108.12 of the Public Utilities Act;
(2) persons who are graduates of or currently enrolled in the foster care system;
(3) persons who were formerly incarcerated;
(4) persons whose primary residence is in an equity investment eligible community.
"Equity eligible contractor" means a business that is majority-owned by eligible persons, or a nonprofit or cooperative that is majority-governed by eligible persons, or is a natural person that is an eligible person offering personal services as an independent contractor.
"Facility" means an electric generating unit or a SB3922 - 29 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b co-generating unit that produces electricity along with related equipment necessary to connect the facility to an electric transmission or distribution system.
"General contractor" means the entity or organization with main responsibility for the building of a construction project and who is the party signing the prime construction contract for the project.
"Governmental aggregator" means one or more units of local government that individually or collectively procure electricity to serve residential retail electrical loads located within its or their jurisdiction.
"High voltage direct current converter station" means the collection of equipment that converts direct current energy from a high voltage direct current transmission line into alternating current using Voltage Source Conversion technology and that is interconnected with transmission or distribution assets located in Illinois.
"High voltage direct current renewable energy credit" means a renewable energy credit associated with a renewable energy resource where the renewable energy resource has entered into a contract to transmit the energy associated with such renewable energy credit over high voltage direct current transmission facilities.
"High voltage direct current transmission facilities" means the collection of installed equipment that converts alternating current energy in one location to direct current SB3922 - 30 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b and transmits that direct current energy to a high voltage direct current converter station using Voltage Source Conversion technology.
"High voltage direct current transmission facilities" includes the high voltage direct current converter station itself and associated high voltage direct current transmission lines.
Notwithstanding the preceding, after September 15, 2021 (the effective date of Public Act 102-662), an otherwise qualifying collection of equipment does not qualify as high voltage direct current transmission facilities unless (1) its developer entered into a project labor agreement, is capable of transmitting electricity at 525kv with an Illinois converter station located and interconnected in the region of the PJM Interconnection, LLC, and the system does not operate as a public utility, as that term is defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, serving more than 100,000 customers as of January 1, 2021;
or (2) its developer has entered into a project labor agreement prior to construction, the project is capable of transmitting electricity at 525 kilovolts or above, and the project has a converter station that is located in this State or in a state adjacent to this State and is interconnected to PJM Interconnection, LLC, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., or their successor.
"Hydropower" means any method of electricity generation or storage that results from the flow of water, including impoundment facilities, diversion facilities, and pumped SB3922 - 31 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b storage facilities.
"Index price" means the real-time energy settlement price at the applicable Illinois trading hub, such as PJM-NIHUB or MISO-IL, for a given settlement period.
"Indexed renewable energy credit" means a tradable credit that represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt hour of energy produced from a renewable energy resource, the price of which shall be calculated by subtracting the strike price offered by a new utility-scale wind project or a new utility-scale photovoltaic project from the index price in a given settlement period.
"Indexed renewable energy credit counterparty" has the same meaning as "public utility" as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Local government" means a unit of local government as defined in Section 1 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
"Modernized" or "retooled" means the construction, repair, maintenance, or significant expansion of turbines and existing hydropower dams.
"Municipality" means a city, village, or incorporated town.
"Municipal utility" means a public utility owned and operated by any subdivision or municipal corporation of this State.
"Nameplate capacity" means the aggregate inverter SB3922 - 32 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b nameplate capacity in kilowatts AC.
"Person" means any natural person, firm, partnership, corporation, either domestic or foreign, company, association, limited liability company, joint stock company, or association and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof.
"Project" means the planning, bidding, and construction of a facility.
"Project labor agreement" means a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that covers all terms and conditions of employment on a specific construction project and must include the following:
(1) provisions establishing the minimum hourly wage for each class of labor organization employee;
(2) provisions establishing the benefits and other compensation for each class of labor organization employee;
(3) provisions establishing that no strike or disputes will be engaged in by the labor organization employees;
(4) provisions establishing that no lockout or disputes will be engaged in by the general contractor building the project;
and (5) provisions for minorities and women, as defined under the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act, setting forth goals for apprenticeship hours to be performed by minorities and SB3922 - 33 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b women and setting forth goals for total hours to be performed by underrepresented minorities and women.
A labor organization and the general contractor building the project shall have the authority to include other terms and conditions as they deem necessary.
"Public utility" has the same definition as found in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Qualified combined heat and power systems" means systems that, either simultaneously or sequentially, produce electricity and useful thermal energy from a single fuel source.
Such systems are eligible for "renewable energy credits" in an amount equal to its total energy output where a renewable fuel is consumed or in an amount equal to the net reduction in nonrenewable fuel consumed on a total energy output basis.
"Real property" means any interest in land together with all structures, fixtures, and improvements thereon, including lands under water and riparian rights, any easements, covenants, licenses, leases, rights-of-way, uses, and other interests, together with any liens, judgments, mortgages, or other claims or security interests related to real property.
"Renewable energy credit" means a tradable credit that represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt hour of energy produced from a renewable energy resource.
"Renewable energy resources" includes energy and its associated renewable energy credit or renewable energy credits SB3922 - 34 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b from wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells and panels, biodiesel, anaerobic digestion, crops and untreated and unadulterated organic waste biomass, and hydropower that does not involve new construction of dams, waste heat to power systems, qualified combined heat and power systems, or geothermal heating and cooling systems that qualify for the Geothermal Homes and Businesses Program.
For purposes of this Act, landfill gas produced in the State is considered a renewable energy resource.
"Renewable energy resources" does not include the incineration or burning of tires, garbage, general household, institutional, and commercial waste, industrial lunchroom or office waste, landscape waste, railroad crossties, utility poles, or construction or demolition debris, other than untreated and unadulterated waste wood.
"Renewable energy resources" also includes high voltage direct current renewable energy credits and the associated energy converted to alternating current by a high voltage direct current converter station to the extent that:
(1) the generator of such renewable energy resource contracted with a third party to transmit the energy over the high voltage direct current transmission facilities, and (2) the third-party contracting for delivery of renewable energy resources over the high voltage direct current transmission facilities have ownership rights over the unretired associated high voltage direct current renewable energy credit.
"Retail customer" has the same definition as found in SB3922 - 35 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Revenue bond" means any bond, note, or other evidence of indebtedness issued by the Authority, the principal and interest of which is payable solely from revenues or income derived from any project or activity of the Agency.
"Sequester" means permanent storage of carbon dioxide by injecting it into a saline aquifer, a depleted gas reservoir, or an oil reservoir, directly or through an enhanced oil recovery process that may involve intermediate storage, regardless of whether these activities are conducted by a clean coal facility, a clean coal SNG facility, a clean coal SNG brownfield facility, or a party with which a clean coal facility, clean coal SNG facility, or clean coal SNG brownfield facility has contracted for such purposes.
"Service area" has the same definition as found in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Settlement period" means the period of time utilized by MISO and PJM and their successor organizations as the basis for settlement calculations in the real-time energy market.
"Sourcing agreement" means (i) in the case of an electric utility, an agreement between the owner of a clean coal facility and such electric utility, which agreement shall have terms and conditions meeting the requirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of Section 1-75, (ii) in the case of an alternative retail electric supplier, an agreement between the owner of a clean coal facility and such alternative retail SB3922 - 36 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b electric supplier, which agreement shall have terms and conditions meeting the requirements of Section 16-115(d)(5) of the Public Utilities Act, and (iii) in case of a gas utility, an agreement between the owner of a clean coal SNG brownfield facility and the gas utility, which agreement shall have the terms and conditions meeting the requirements of subsection (h-1) of Section 9-220 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Strike price" means a contract price for energy and renewable energy credits from a new utility-scale wind project or a new utility-scale photovoltaic project.
"Subscriber" means a person who (i) takes delivery service from an electric utility, and (ii) has a subscription of no less than 200 watts to a community renewable generation project that is located in the electric utility's service area.
No subscriber's subscriptions may total more than 40% of the nameplate capacity of an individual community renewable generation project.
Entities that are affiliated by virtue of a common parent shall not represent multiple subscriptions that total more than 40% of the nameplate capacity of an individual community renewable generation project.
"Subscription" means an interest in a community renewable generation project expressed in kilowatts, which is sized primarily to offset part or all of the subscriber's electricity usage.
"Substitute natural gas" or "SNG" means a gas manufactured by gasification of hydrocarbon feedstock, which is SB3922 - 37 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b substantially interchangeable in use and distribution with conventional natural gas.
"Total resource cost test" or "TRC test" means a standard that is met if, for an investment in energy efficiency or demand-response measures, the benefit-cost ratio is greater than one.
The benefit-cost ratio is the ratio of the net present value of the total benefits of the program to the net present value of the total costs as calculated over the lifetime of the measures.
A total resource cost test compares the sum of avoided electric utility costs, representing the benefits that accrue to the system and the participant in the delivery of those efficiency measures and including avoided costs associated with reduced use of natural gas or other fuels, avoided costs associated with reduced water consumption, avoided costs associated with reduced operation and maintenance costs, and avoided societal costs associated with reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as other quantifiable societal benefits, to the sum of all incremental costs of end-use measures that are implemented due to the program (including both utility and participant contributions), plus costs to administer, deliver, and evaluate each demand-side program, to quantify the net savings obtained by substituting the demand-side program for supply resources.
The societal costs associated with greenhouse gas emissions shall be $200 per short ton, expressed in 2025 dollars or the most recently approved estimate developed by SB3922 - 38 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b the federal government using a real discount rate consistent with long-term Treasury bond yields, whichever is greater.
Changes in greenhouse gas emissions due to changes in electricity consumption shall be estimated using long-run marginal emissions rates developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Cambium model or other Illinois-specific modeling of comparable analytical rigor.
In discounting future costs and benefits for the purpose of calculating net present values, a societal discount rate based on actual, long-term Treasury bond yields should be used.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the TRC test shall not include or take into account a calculation of market price suppression effects or demand reduction induced price effects.
"Utility-scale solar project" means an electric generating facility that:
(1) generates electricity using photovoltaic cells;
and (2) has a nameplate capacity that is greater than 5,000 kilowatts alternating current (AC).
"Utility-scale wind project" means an electric generating facility that:
(1) generates electricity using wind;
and (2) has a nameplate capacity that is greater than 5,000 kilowatts.
"Waste Heat to Power Systems" means systems that capture and generate electricity from energy that would otherwise be SB3922 - 39 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b lost to the atmosphere without the use of additional fuel.
"Zero emission credit" means a tradable credit that represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt hour of energy produced from a zero emission facility.
"Zero emission facility" means a facility that:
(1) is fueled by nuclear power;
and (2) is interconnected with PJM Interconnection, LLC or the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., or their successors.
(Source:
P.A.
103-154, eff.
6-28-23;
103-380, eff.
1-1-24;
104-458, eff.
6-1-26.) Section 10.
The Counties Code is amended by changing Section 5-12020 as follows:
(55 ILCS 5/5-12020) (Text of Section before amendment by P.A.
104-458) Sec.
5-12020.
Commercial wind energy facilities and commercial solar energy facilities.
(a) As used in this Section:
"Commercial solar energy facility" means a "commercial solar energy system" as defined in Section 10-720 of the Property Tax Code.
"Commercial solar energy facility" does not mean a utility-scale solar energy facility being constructed at a site that was eligible to participate in a procurement event conducted by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency SB3922 - 40 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Act.
"Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in total nameplate generating capacity.
"Commercial wind energy facility" includes a wind energy conversion facility seeking an extension of a permit to construct granted by a county or municipality before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123).
"Facility owner" means (i) a person with a direct ownership interest in a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility, or both, regardless of whether the person is involved in acquiring the necessary rights, permits, and approvals or otherwise planning for the construction and operation of the facility, and (ii) at the time the facility is being developed, a person who is acting as a developer of the facility by acquiring the necessary rights, permits, and approvals or by planning for the construction and operation of the facility, regardless of whether the person will own or operate the facility.
"Nonparticipating property" means real property that is not a participating property.
"Nonparticipating residence" means a residence that is located on nonparticipating property and that is existing and occupied on the date that an application for a permit to develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility is filed with the county.
SB3922 - 41 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b "Occupied community building" means any one or more of the following buildings that is existing and occupied on the date that the application for a permit to develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility is filed with the county:
a school, place of worship, day care facility, public library, or community center.
"Participating property" means real property that is the subject of a written agreement between a facility owner and the owner of the real property that provides the facility owner an easement, option, lease, or license to use the real property for the purpose of constructing a commercial wind energy facility, a commercial solar energy facility, or supporting facilities.
"Participating property" also includes real property that is owned by a facility owner for the purpose of constructing a commercial wind energy facility, a commercial solar energy facility, or supporting facilities.
"Participating residence" means a residence that is located on participating property and that is existing and occupied on the date that an application for a permit to develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility is filed with the county.
"Protected lands" means real property that is:
(1) subject to a permanent conservation right consistent with the Real Property Conservation Rights Act;
or (2) registered or designated as a nature preserve, SB3922 - 42 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b buffer, or land and water reserve under the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act.
"Supporting facilities" means the transmission lines, substations, access roads, meteorological towers, storage containers, and equipment associated with the generation and storage of electricity by the commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility.
"Wind tower" includes the wind turbine tower, nacelle, and blades.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or whether the county has formed a zoning commission and adopted formal zoning under Section 5-12007, a county may establish standards for commercial wind energy facilities, commercial solar energy facilities, or both.
The standards may include all of the requirements specified in this Section but may not include requirements for commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive than specified in this Section.
A county may also regulate the siting of commercial wind energy facilities with standards that are not more restrictive than the requirements specified in this Section in unincorporated areas of the county that are outside the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality and that are outside the 1.5-mile radius surrounding the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality.
(c) If a county has elected to establish standards under subsection (b), before the county grants siting approval or a SB3922 - 43 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b special use permit for a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility, or modification of an approved siting or special use permit, the county board of the county in which the facility is to be sited or the zoning board of appeals for the county shall hold at least one public hearing.
The public hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act and shall be held not more than 60 days after the filing of the application for the facility.
The county shall allow interested parties to a special use permit an opportunity to present evidence and to cross-examine witnesses at the hearing, but the county may impose reasonable restrictions on the public hearing, including reasonable time limitations on the presentation of evidence and the cross-examination of witnesses.
The county shall also allow public comment at the public hearing in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.
The county shall make its siting and permitting decisions not more than 30 days after the conclusion of the public hearing.
Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.
A facility owner must enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture prior to the date of the required public hearing.
A commercial wind energy facility owner seeking an extension of a permit granted by a county prior to July 24, 2015 (the effective date of Public Act 99-132) must enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture prior SB3922 - 44 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b to a decision by the county to grant the permit extension.
Counties may allow test wind towers or test solar energy systems to be sited without formal approval by the county board.
(d) A county with an existing zoning ordinance in conflict with this Section shall amend that zoning ordinance to be in compliance with this Section within 120 days after January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123).
(e) A county may require:
(1) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility to be sited as follows, with setback distances measured from the center of the base of the wind tower:
Setback Description Setback Distance Occupied Community 2.1 times the maximum blade tip Buildings height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the outside wall of the structure Participating Residences 1.1 times the maximum blade tip height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the outside wall of the structure Nonparticipating Residences 2.1 times the maximum blade tip SB3922 - 45 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the outside wall of the structure Boundary Lines of None Participating Property Boundary Lines of 1.1 times the maximum blade tip Nonparticipating Property height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the property line of the nonparticipating property Public Road Rights-of-Way 1.1 times the maximum blade tip height of the wind tower to the center point of the public road right-of-way Overhead Communication and 1.1 times the maximum blade tip Electric Transmission height of the wind tower to the and Distribution Facilities nearest edge of the property (Not Including Overhead line, easement, or Utility Service Lines to right-of-way Individual Houses or containing the overhead line Outbuildings) SB3922 - 46 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Overhead Utility Service None Lines to Individual Houses or Outbuildings Fish and Wildlife Areas 2.1 times the maximum blade and Illinois Nature tip height of the wind tower Preserve Commission to the nearest point on the Protected Lands property line of the fish and wildlife area or protected land This Section does not exempt or excuse compliance with electric facility clearances approved or required by the National Electrical Code, the National Electrical Safety Code, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and their designees or successors;
(2) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility to be sited so that industry standard computer modeling indicates that any occupied community building or nonparticipating residence will not experience more than 30 hours per year of shadow flicker under planned operating conditions;
(3) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited as follows, with setback distances measured from the nearest edge of any component of the facility:
SB3922 - 47 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Setback Description Setback Distance Occupied Community 150 feet from the nearest Buildings and Dwellings on point on the outside wall Nonparticipating Properties of the structure Boundary Lines of None Participating Property Public Road Rights-of-Way 50 feet from the nearest edge Boundary Lines of 50 feet to the nearest Nonparticipating Property point on the property line of the nonparticipating property (4) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so that the facility's perimeter is enclosed by fencing having a height of at least 6 feet and no more than 25 feet;
and (5) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so that no component of a solar panel has a height of more than 20 feet above ground when the solar energy facility's arrays are at full tilt.
The requirements set forth in this subsection (e) may be SB3922 - 48 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b waived subject to the written consent of the owner of each affected nonparticipating property.
(f) A county may not set a sound limitation for wind towers in commercial wind energy facilities or any components in commercial solar energy facilities that is more restrictive than the sound limitations established by the Illinois Pollution Control Board under 35 Ill.
Adm.
Code Parts 900, 901, and 910.
(g) A county may not place any restriction on the installation or use of a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility unless it adopts an ordinance that complies with this Section.
A county may not establish siting standards for supporting facilities that preclude development of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities.
A request for siting approval or a special use permit for a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility, or modification of an approved siting or special use permit, shall be approved if the request is in compliance with the standards and conditions imposed in this Act, the zoning ordinance adopted consistent with this Code, and the conditions imposed under State and federal statutes and regulations.
(h) A county may not adopt zoning regulations that disallow, permanently or temporarily, commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities from being SB3922 - 49 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b developed or operated in any district zoned to allow agricultural or industrial uses.
(i) A county may not require permit application fees for a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility that are unreasonable.
All application fees imposed by the county shall be consistent with fees for projects in the county with similar capital value and cost.
(j) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a county shall not require standards for construction, decommissioning, or deconstruction of a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility or related financial assurances that are more restrictive than those included in the Department of Agriculture's standard wind farm agricultural impact mitigation agreement, template 81818, or standard solar agricultural impact mitigation agreement, version 8.19.19, as applicable and in effect on December 31, 2022.
The amount of any decommissioning payment shall be in accordance with the financial assurance required by those agricultural impact mitigation agreements.
(j-5) A commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility shall file a farmland drainage plan with the county and impacted drainage districts outlining how surface and subsurface drainage of farmland will be restored during and following construction or deconstruction of the facility.
The plan is to be created independently by the facility developer and shall include the location of any SB3922 - 50 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b potentially impacted drainage district facilities to the extent this information is publicly available from the county or the drainage district, plans to repair any subsurface drainage affected during construction or deconstruction using procedures outlined in the agricultural impact mitigation agreement entered into by the commercial wind energy facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner, and procedures for the repair and restoration of surface drainage affected during construction or deconstruction.
All surface and subsurface damage shall be repaired as soon as reasonably practicable.
(k) A county may not condition approval of a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility on a property value guarantee and may not require a facility owner to pay into a neighboring property devaluation escrow account.
(l) A county may require certain vegetative screening surrounding a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility but may not require earthen berms or similar structures.
(m) A county may set blade tip height limitations for wind towers in commercial wind energy facilities but may not set a blade tip height limitation that is more restrictive than the height allowed under a Determination of No Hazard to Air Navigation by the Federal Aviation Administration under 14 CFR Part 77.
(n) A county may require that a commercial wind energy SB3922 - 51 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner provide:
(1) the results and recommendations from consultation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that are obtained through the Ecological Compliance Assessment Tool (EcoCAT) or a comparable successor tool;
and (2) the results of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Information for Planning and Consulting environmental review or a comparable successor tool that is consistent with (i) the "U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service's Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines" and (ii) any applicable United States Fish and Wildlife Service solar wildlife guidelines that have been subject to public review.
(o) A county may require a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility to adhere to the recommendations provided by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in an EcoCAT natural resource review report under 17 Ill.
Adm.
Code Part 1075.
(p) A county may require a facility owner to:
(1) demonstrate avoidance of protected lands as identified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission;
or (2) consider the recommendations of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for setbacks from protected lands, including areas identified by the SB3922 - 52 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Illinois Nature Preserve Commission.
(q) A county may require that a facility owner provide evidence of consultation with the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office to assess potential impacts on State-registered historic sites under the Illinois State Agency Historic Resources Preservation Act.
(r) To maximize community benefits, including, but not limited to, reduced stormwater runoff, flooding, and erosion at the ground mounted solar energy system, improved soil health, and increased foraging habitat for game birds, songbirds, and pollinators, a county may (1) require a commercial solar energy facility owner to plant, establish, and maintain for the life of the facility vegetative ground cover, consistent with the goals of the Pollinator-Friendly Solar Site Act and (2) require the submittal of a vegetation management plan that is in compliance with the agricultural impact mitigation agreement in the application to construct and operate a commercial solar energy facility in the county if the vegetative ground cover and vegetation management plan comply with the requirements of the underlying agreement with the landowner or landowners where the facility will be constructed.
No later than 90 days after January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123), the Illinois Department of Natural Resources shall develop guidelines for vegetation management plans that may be required under this SB3922 - 53 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b subsection for commercial solar energy facilities.
The guidelines must include guidance for short-term and long-term property management practices that provide and maintain native and non-invasive naturalized perennial vegetation to protect the health and well-being of pollinators.
(s) If a facility owner enters into a road use agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation, a road district, or other unit of local government relating to a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility, the road use agreement shall require the facility owner to be responsible for (i) the reasonable cost of improving roads used by the facility owner to construct the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility and (ii) the reasonable cost of repairing roads used by the facility owner during construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility so that those roads are in a condition that is safe for the driving public after the completion of the facility's construction.
Roadways improved in preparation for and during the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility shall be repaired and restored to the improved condition at the reasonable cost of the developer if the roadways have degraded or were damaged as a result of construction-related activities.
The road use agreement shall not require the facility owner to pay costs, fees, or charges for road work that is not SB3922 - 54 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b specifically and uniquely attributable to the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility.
Road-related fees, permit fees, or other charges imposed by the Illinois Department of Transportation, a road district, or other unit of local government under a road use agreement with the facility owner shall be reasonably related to the cost of administration of the road use agreement.
(s-5) The facility owner shall also compensate landowners for crop losses or other agricultural damages resulting from damage to the drainage system caused by the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility.
The commercial wind energy facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner shall repair or pay for the repair of all damage to the subsurface drainage system caused by the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility in accordance with the agriculture impact mitigation agreement requirements for repair of drainage.
The commercial wind energy facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner shall repair or pay for the repair and restoration of surface drainage caused by the construction or deconstruction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility as soon as reasonably practicable.
(t) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a facility owner with siting approval from a county to construct a SB3922 - 55 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility is authorized to cross or impact a drainage system, including, but not limited to, drainage tiles, open drainage ditches, culverts, and water gathering vaults, owned or under the control of a drainage district under the Illinois Drainage Code without obtaining prior agreement or approval from the drainage district in accordance with the farmland drainage plan required by subsection (j-5).
(u) The amendments to this Section adopted in Public Act 102-1123 do not apply to:
(1) an application for siting approval or for a special use permit for a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility if the application was submitted to a unit of local government before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123);
(2) a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility if the facility owner has submitted an agricultural impact mitigation agreement to the Department of Agriculture before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123);
or (3) a commercial wind energy or commercial solar energy development on property that is located within an enterprise zone certified under the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act, that was classified as industrial by the appropriate zoning authority on or before January 27, 2023, and that is located within 4 miles of the intersection of Interstate 88 and Interstate 39.
(Source:
P.A.
103-81, eff.
6-9-23;
103-580, eff.
12-8-23;
SB3922 - 56 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b 104-417, eff.
8-15-25.) (Text of Section after amendment by P.A.
104-458) Sec.
5-12020.
Commercial wind energy facilities and commercial solar energy facilities.
(a) As used in this Section:
"Commercial solar energy facility" means a "commercial solar energy system" as defined in Section 10-720 of the Property Tax Code.
"Commercial solar energy facility" does not mean a utility-scale solar energy facility being constructed at a site that was eligible to participate in a procurement event conducted by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.
"Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in total nameplate generating capacity.
"Commercial wind energy facility" includes a wind energy conversion facility seeking an extension of a permit to construct granted by a county or municipality before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123).
"Facility owner" means (i) a person with a direct ownership interest in a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility, or both, regardless of whether the person is involved in acquiring the necessary rights, permits, and approvals or otherwise planning for the SB3922 - 57 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b construction and operation of the facility, and (ii) at the time the facility is being developed, a person who is acting as a developer of the facility by acquiring the necessary rights, permits, and approvals or by planning for the construction and operation of the facility, regardless of whether the person will own or operate the facility.
"Nonparticipating property" means real property that is not a participating property.
"Nonparticipating residence" means a residence that is located on nonparticipating property and that is existing and occupied on the date that an application for a permit to develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility is filed with the county.
"Occupied community building" means any one or more of the following buildings that is existing and occupied on the date that the application for a permit to develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility is filed with the county:
a school, place of worship, day care facility, public library, or community center.
"Participating property" means real property that is the subject of a written agreement between a facility owner and the owner of the real property that provides the facility owner an easement, option, lease, or license to use the real property for the purpose of constructing a commercial wind energy facility, a commercial solar energy facility, or supporting facilities.
"Participating property" also includes SB3922 - 58 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b real property that is owned by a facility owner for the purpose of constructing a commercial wind energy facility, a commercial solar energy facility, or supporting facilities.
"Participating residence" means a residence that is located on participating property and that is existing and occupied on the date that an application for a permit to develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility is filed with the county.
"Protected lands" means real property that is:
(1) subject to a permanent conservation right consistent with the Real Property Conservation Rights Act;
or (2) registered or designated as a nature preserve, buffer, or land and water reserve under the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act.
"Supporting facilities" means the transmission lines, substations, access roads, meteorological towers, storage containers, and equipment associated with the generation and storage of electricity by the commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility.
"Supporting facilities" includes energy storage systems capable of absorbing energy and storing it for use at a later time, including, but not limited to, batteries and other electrochemical and electromechanical technologies or systems.
"Wind tower" includes the wind turbine tower, nacelle, and blades.
SB3922 - 59 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or whether the county has formed a zoning commission and adopted formal zoning under Section 5-12007, a county may establish standards for commercial wind energy facilities, commercial solar energy facilities, or both.
The standards may include all of the requirements specified in this Section but may not include requirements for commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive than specified in this Section or requirements specified in other laws.
A county may also regulate the siting of commercial wind energy facilities with standards that are not more restrictive than the requirements specified in this Section or requirements specified in other laws in unincorporated areas of the county that are outside the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality and that are outside the 1.5-mile radius surrounding the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality.
A county may also regulate the siting of commercial solar energy facilities with standards that are not more restrictive than the requirements specified in this Section or requirements specified in other laws in unincorporated areas of the county that are outside of the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality.
(c) If a county has elected to establish standards under subsection (b), before the county grants siting approval or a special use permit for a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility, or modification of an SB3922 - 60 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b approved siting or special use permit, the county board of the county in which the facility is to be sited or the zoning board of appeals for the county shall hold at least one public hearing.
The public hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act and shall conclude not more than 60 days after the filing of the application for the facility.
The county shall allow interested parties to a special use permit an opportunity to present evidence and to cross-examine witnesses at the hearing, but the county may impose reasonable restrictions on the public hearing, including reasonable time limitations on the presentation of evidence and the cross-examination of witnesses.
The county shall also allow public comment at the public hearing in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.
The county shall make its siting and permitting decisions not more than 30 days after the conclusion of the public hearing.
Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.
A facility owner must enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture prior to the date of the required public hearing.
A commercial wind energy facility owner seeking an extension of a permit granted by a county prior to July 24, 2015 (the effective date of Public Act 99-132) must enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture prior to a decision by the county to grant the permit extension.
Counties may allow test wind towers or test solar energy SB3922 - 61 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b systems to be sited without formal approval by the county board.
(d) A county with an existing zoning ordinance in conflict with this Section shall amend that zoning ordinance to be in compliance with this Section within 120 days after January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123).
(e) A county may require:
(1) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility to be sited as follows, with setback distances measured from the center of the base of the wind tower:
Setback Description Setback Distance Occupied Community 2.1 times the maximum blade tip Buildings height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the outside wall of the structure Participating Residences 1.1 times the maximum blade tip height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the outside wall of the structure Nonparticipating Residences 2.1 times the maximum blade tip height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the outside SB3922 - 62 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b wall of the structure Boundary Lines of None Participating Property Boundary Lines of 1.1 times the maximum blade tip Nonparticipating Property height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the property line of the nonparticipating property Public Road Rights-of-Way 1.1 times the maximum blade tip height of the wind tower to the center point of the public road right-of-way Overhead Communication and 1.1 times the maximum blade tip Electric Transmission height of the wind tower to the and Distribution Facilities nearest edge of the property (Not Including Overhead line, easement, or Utility Service Lines to right-of-way Individual Houses or containing the overhead line Outbuildings) Overhead Utility Service None Lines to Individual SB3922 - 63 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Houses or Outbuildings Fish and Wildlife Areas 2.1 times the maximum blade and Illinois Nature tip height of the wind tower Preserve Commission to the nearest point on the Protected Lands property line of the fish and wildlife area or protected land This Section does not exempt or excuse compliance with electric facility clearances approved or required by the National Electrical Code, the National Electrical Safety Code, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and their designees or successors;
(2) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility to be sited so that industry standard computer modeling indicates that any occupied community building or nonparticipating residence will not experience more than 30 hours per year of shadow flicker under planned operating conditions;
(3) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited as follows, with setback distances measured from the nearest edge of any above-ground component of the facility, excluding fencing:
Setback Description Setback Distance SB3922 - 64 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Occupied Community 150 feet from the nearest Buildings and Dwellings on point on the outside wall Nonparticipating Properties of the structure Boundary Lines of None Participating Property Public Road Rights-of-Way 50 feet from the nearest edge of the public right-of-way Boundary Lines of 50 feet to the nearest Nonparticipating Property point on the property line of the nonparticipating property (4) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so that the facility's perimeter is enclosed by fencing having a height of at least 6 feet and no more than 25 feet;
and (5) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so that no component of a solar panel has a height of more than 20 feet above ground when the solar energy facility's arrays are at full tilt.
This subsection (e) shall not preclude the ability of a SB3922 - 65 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b county to require a reasonable setback distance not to exceed 50 feet between fencing and public rights-of-way if the requirement is not specific to commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities and does not preclude the development of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities or the ability of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities to comply with the requirements set forth in this subsection (e).
The requirements set forth in this subsection (e) may be waived subject to the written consent of the owner of each affected nonparticipating property.
(f) A county may not set a sound limitation for wind towers in commercial wind energy facilities or any components in commercial solar energy facilities that is more restrictive than the sound limitations established by the Illinois Pollution Control Board under 35 Ill.
Adm.
Code Parts 900, 901, and 910.
Additionally, in accordance with Section 25 of the Environmental Protection Act, a participating property, participating residence, nonparticipating property, nonparticipating residence, or any combination of those properties or residences may waive enforcement of the rules adopted by the Illinois Pollution Control Board under 35 Ill.
Adm.
Code Parts 900, 901, and 910 by written waiver that complies with the applicable directive established in Section 25 of the Environmental Protection Act and is recorded in the SB3922 - 66 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Office of the Recorder of the county in which the participating property, participating residence, nonparticipating property, or nonparticipating residence is located.
Once recorded, such a waiver shall be binding on any current and future owners, residents, lessees, invitees, and users of the participating property, participating residence, nonparticipating property, or nonparticipating residence for enforcement purposes.
An owner of any participating residence or nonparticipating residence shall disclose the existence of such a waiver to any lessee before entering any new lease for the residence.
A seller or transferor of a participating property, participating residence, nonparticipating property, nonparticipating residence, or any combination of those properties or residences shall disclose the existence of such a waiver to any buyer or transferee before any sale or transfer of the property.
If disclosure of the waiver occurs after the buyer has made an offer to purchase the property, the seller shall disclose the existence of the waiver before accepting the buyer's offer and shall (1) allow the buyer an opportunity to review the disclosure and (2) inform the buyer that the buyer has the right to amend the buyer's offer.
(g) A county may not place any restriction on the installation or use of a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility unless it adopts an ordinance that complies with this Section.
A county may not establish SB3922 - 67 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b siting standards for supporting facilities that preclude development of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities.
A request for siting approval or a special use permit for a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility, or modification of an approved siting or special use permit, shall be approved if the request is in compliance with the standards and conditions imposed in this Act, the zoning ordinance adopted consistent with this Act, and the conditions imposed under State and federal statutes and regulations.
(h) A county may not adopt zoning regulations that disallow, permanently or temporarily, commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities from being developed or operated in any district zoned to allow agricultural or industrial uses.
(i) (Blank).
(i-5) All siting approval or special use permit application fees for a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility must be reasonable.
Fees that do not exceed $5,000 per each megawatt of nameplate capacity of the energy facility, up to a maximum of $125,000, shall be considered presumptively reasonable.
A county may also require reimbursement from the applicant for any reasonable expenses incurred by the county in processing the siting approval or special use permit application in excess of the maximum fee.
A siting approval or special use permit shall not be subject to SB3922 - 68 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b any time deadline to start construction or obtain a building permit of less than 5 years from the date of siting approval or special use permit approval.
A county shall allow an applicant to request an extension of the deadline based upon reasonable cause for the extension request.
The exemption shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or denied.
(i-10) A county may require, for a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility, a single building permit and a reasonable permit fee for the facility which includes all supporting facilities.
County building permit fees for commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility that do not exceed $5,000 per each megawatt of nameplate capacity of the energy facility, up to a maximum of $75,000, shall be considered presumptively reasonable.
A county may also require reimbursement from the applicant for any reasonable expenses incurred by the county in processing the building permit in excess of the maximum fee.
A county may require an applicant, upon start of construction of the facility, to maintain liability insurance that is commercially reasonable and consistent with prevailing industry standards for similar energy facilities.
(j) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a county shall not require standards for construction, decommissioning, or deconstruction of a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility or related financial assurances that are more restrictive than those included in SB3922 - 69 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b the Department of Agriculture's standard wind farm agricultural impact mitigation agreement, template 81818, or standard solar agricultural impact mitigation agreement, version 8.19.19, as applicable and in effect on December 31, 2022.
The amount of any decommissioning payment shall be in accordance with the financial assurance required by those agricultural impact mitigation agreements.
(j-5) A commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility shall file a farmland drainage plan with the county and impacted drainage districts outlining how surface and subsurface drainage of farmland will be restored during and following construction or deconstruction of the facility.
The plan is to be created independently by the facility developer and shall include the location of any potentially impacted drainage district facilities to the extent this information is publicly available from the county or the drainage district, plans to repair any subsurface drainage affected during construction or deconstruction using procedures outlined in the agricultural impact mitigation agreement entered into by the commercial wind energy facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner, and procedures for the repair and restoration of surface drainage affected during construction or deconstruction.
All surface and subsurface damage shall be repaired as soon as reasonably practicable.
(k) A county may not condition approval of a commercial SB3922 - 70 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility on a property value guarantee and may not require a facility owner to pay into a neighboring property devaluation escrow account.
(l) A county may require certain vegetative screening between a commercial solar energy facility and nonparticipating residences.
A county may not require earthen berms or similar structures.
Vegetative screening requirements shall be commercially reasonable and limited in height at full maturity to avoid reduction of the productive energy output of the commercial solar energy facility.
A county may not require vegetative screening to exceed 5 feet in height when first installed or prior to commercial operation date.
The screening requirements shall take into account the size and location of the facility, visibility from nonparticipating residences, compatibility of native plant species, cost and feasibility of installation and maintenance, and industry standards and best practices for commercial solar energy facilities.
(m) A county may set blade tip height limitations for wind towers in commercial wind energy facilities but may not set a blade tip height limitation that is more restrictive than the height allowed under a Determination of No Hazard to Air Navigation by the Federal Aviation Administration under 14 CFR Part 77.
(n) A county may require that a commercial wind energy facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner provide:
SB3922 - 71 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b (1) the results and recommendations from consultation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that are obtained through the Ecological Compliance Assessment Tool (EcoCAT) or a comparable successor tool;
and (2) (blank).
(o) A county may require a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility to adhere to the recommendations provided by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in an EcoCAT natural resource review report under 17 Ill.
Adm.
Code Part 1075.
(p) A county may require a facility owner to:
(1) demonstrate avoidance of protected lands as identified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission;
or (2) consider the recommendations of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for setbacks from protected lands, including areas identified by the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission.
(q) A county may require that a facility owner provide evidence of consultation with the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office to assess potential impacts on State-registered historic sites under the Illinois State Agency Historic Resources Preservation Act.
(r) To maximize community benefits, including, but not limited to, reduced stormwater runoff, flooding, and erosion at the ground mounted solar energy system, improved soil SB3922 - 72 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b health, and increased foraging habitat for game birds, songbirds, and pollinators, a county may (1) require a commercial solar energy facility owner to plant, establish, and maintain for the life of the facility vegetative ground cover, consistent with the goals of the Pollinator-Friendly Solar Site Act and (2) require the submittal of a vegetation management plan that is in compliance with the agricultural impact mitigation agreement in the application to construct and operate a commercial solar energy facility in the county if the vegetative ground cover and vegetation management plan comply with the requirements of the underlying agreement with the landowner or landowners where the facility will be constructed.
No later than 90 days after January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123), the Illinois Department of Natural Resources shall develop guidelines for vegetation management plans that may be required under this subsection for commercial solar energy facilities.
The guidelines must include guidance for short-term and long-term property management practices that provide and maintain native and non-invasive naturalized perennial vegetation to protect the health and well-being of pollinators.
(s) If a facility owner enters into a road use agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation, a road district, or other unit of local government relating to a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy SB3922 - 73 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b facility, the road use agreement shall require the facility owner to be responsible for (i) the reasonable cost of improving roads used by the facility owner to construct the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility and (ii) the reasonable cost of repairing roads used by the facility owner during construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility so that those roads are in a condition that is safe for the driving public after the completion of the facility's construction.
Roadways improved in preparation for and during the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility shall be repaired and restored to the improved condition at the reasonable cost of the developer if the roadways have degraded or were damaged as a result of construction-related activities.
The road use agreement shall not require the facility owner to pay costs, fees, or charges for road work that is not specifically and uniquely attributable to the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility.
No road district or other unit of local government may request or require permit fees, fines, or other payment obligations as a requirement for a road use agreement with a facility owner unless the amount of the reasonable permit fee or payment is equivalent to the amount of actual expenses incurred by the road district or other unit of local government for negotiating, executing, constructing, or SB3922 - 74 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b implementing the road use agreement.
The road use agreement shall not require any road work to be performed by or paid for by the facility owner that is not specifically and uniquely attributable to the road improvements required for the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility or the restoration of the roads used by the facility owner during construction-related activities.
(s-5) The facility owner shall also compensate landowners for crop losses or other agricultural damages resulting from damage to the drainage system caused by the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility.
The commercial wind energy facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner shall repair or pay for the repair of all damage to the subsurface drainage system caused by the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility in accordance with the agriculture impact mitigation agreement requirements for repair of drainage.
The commercial wind energy facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner shall repair or pay for the repair and restoration of surface drainage caused by the construction or deconstruction of the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility as soon as reasonably practicable.
(t) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a facility owner with siting approval from a county to construct a SB3922 - 75 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility is authorized to cross or impact a drainage system, including, but not limited to, drainage tiles, open drainage ditches, culverts, and water gathering vaults, owned or under the control of a drainage district under the Illinois Drainage Code without obtaining prior agreement or approval from the drainage district in accordance with the farmland drainage plan required by subsection (j-5).
(u) The amendments to this Section adopted in Public Act 102-1123 do not apply to:
(1) an application for siting approval or for a special use permit for a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility if the application was submitted to a unit of local government before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123);
(2) a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility if the facility owner has submitted an agricultural impact mitigation agreement to the Department of Agriculture before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123);
(3) a commercial wind energy or commercial solar energy development on property that is located within an enterprise zone certified under the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act, that was classified as industrial by the appropriate zoning authority on or before January 27, 2023, and that is located within 4 miles of the intersection of Interstate 88 and Interstate 39;
or (4) a commercial wind energy or commercial solar energy development on property in SB3922 - 76 - LRB104 19421 AAS 32869 b Madison County that is located within the area that has as its northern boundary the portion of Drexelius Road that is between the intersection of Drexelius Road and Wolf Road and the intersection of Drexelius Road and Fosterburg Road, that has as its eastern boundary the portion of Fosterburg Road that is between the intersection of Fosterburg Road and Drexelius Road and the intersection of Fosterburg Road and Wolf Road, and that has as its southern and western boundaries the portion of Wolf Road that is between the intersection of Fosterburg Road and Wolf Road and the intersection of Drexelius Road and Wolf Road.
(v) The changes to subsection (b) made by this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly are declarative of existing law.