Wind and Solar Energy Leasing in Douglas County, Illinois

Why this fight could even happen here

Illinois townships generally don't have independent zoning authority once a county has adopted its own zoning ordinance -- 60 ILCS 1, Article 110 of the Township Code says township zoning "does not apply in any county in which a county zoning ordinance or resolution is in effect." But Douglas County is a genuine exception: multiple 2019 Illinois news reports describe it plainly as "one of the few counties in Illinois that does not have a general countywide zoning system." Because there was no countywide zoning ordinance to foreclose it, the narrow Article 110 exception was actually live and available to Douglas County's townships -- a fact pattern that doesn't apply in most other Illinois counties.

The Harvest Ridge fight

EDP Renewables North America proposed the Harvest Ridge Wind Farm for northeastern Douglas County, north of Newman, with turbines planned partly within Newman and Murdock Townships. In 2018, both townships used their available Article 110 authority to adopt their own zoning ordinances specifically aimed at the project, reportedly requiring turbine setbacks up to five times stricter than Douglas County's own wind-specific standards. EDP Renewables sued both townships, arguing the stricter local rules would effectively block the project as designed.

The dispute widened further: the Village of Longview and more than 50 individual residents filed their own separate lawsuits -- naming EDP Renewables, the project entity Broadlands Wind Farm LLC, Douglas County, the County Board, and individual board members -- objecting to turbine placement within roughly 1.5 miles of the village's corporate limits. As many as seven of the project's 48 planned turbines reportedly fell within that radius.

How the Illinois General Assembly resolved it

The conflict was significant enough to prompt state legislation. House Bill 2988 passed the Illinois House 95-12 and the Senate 43-7, and Governor Pritzker signed it into law in 2019 as Public Act 101-0004, amending 55 ILCS 5/5-12020 of the Counties Code. The amendment established that only county governments -- not townships -- may enact zoning regulations for wind farms, electric-generating wind devices, and commercial wind energy facilities in unincorporated areas of a county outside a municipality's own zoning jurisdiction and the 1.5-mile radius surrounding it. Multiple contemporaneous reports described the bill as effectively aimed at resolving the Newman/Murdock Township dispute specifically. Separately, the underlying statute (55 ILCS 5/5-12020) allows a county to set wind-farm standards "notwithstanding any other provision of law or whether the county has formed a zoning commission" -- meaning Douglas County's authority to regulate wind siting doesn't depend on it ever adopting general zoning.

The Harvest Ridge Wind Farm was ultimately built and has been fully operational since 2020 -- 200 megawatts across 48 turbines (a mix of Vestas V136 3.7 MW and V150 4.3 MW models), estimated to power around 68,000 Illinois homes. What's genuinely unresolved, and worth checking directly if you're buying land in either township: Public Act 101-0004 addressed wind-farm zoning authority specifically, but it's not confirmed whether Newman or Murdock Township maintains any broader, general zoning ordinance today beyond what was at issue in the 2018-2019 dispute. Ask the township supervisor or clerk directly -- this is one of the few places in Illinois where that question actually matters.

Solar: the County Board approves it directly

In 2026, the Douglas County Board approved a roughly 5-megawatt community solar project from Denver-based Pivot Energy (Douglas Solar 1 and Douglas Solar 1B) after a review process running from late 2024 to mid-2026. The project covers 60 of the 250 acres at a site near Route 45 and County Road 1550 N, with a 20-year lease term (up to two extensions), full perimeter fencing, and an evergreen tree buffer along the northern edge facing County Road 1550 N. The Board approved it 5-2; Pivot Energy projected more than $750,000 in county tax revenue over the 20-year term plus a $50,000 donation to local nonprofits.

As with wind, this approval ran through the County Board directly under Douglas County's wind/solar-specific ordinance provisions rather than through a standard zoning-department process -- consistent with the county's lack of a general zoning code. If you're evaluating a solar lease offer, or buying land near an existing or proposed project, the same County Board (rather than a Planning and Zoning Department) is the right first call for current application status and conditions.

If you've been offered a lease, or are buying land already under one

If you're the landowner fielding a wind or solar lease offer: Douglas County's wind/solar-specific ordinance (and the statewide 55 ILCS 5/5-12020 framework behind it) sets the regulatory floor on setbacks and siting, not the lease's financial terms. Payment structure and escalation, term length and renewal options, exactly what the easement covers (turbine or panel footprint only, or also access roads, collector-line corridors, and setback buffers on surrounding acreage), and who bears decommissioning cost if the developer becomes insolvent are all matters of private contract -- have an attorney experienced in Illinois wind/solar leases review any offer before signing, given how long these agreements typically run (Douglas Solar's own base term is 20 years with up to two extensions; wind leases commonly run 20-30+ years).

If you're buying land already subject to a recorded wind or solar lease or easement -- whether tied to Harvest Ridge, Douglas Solar, or a future project -- pull the actual recorded document from the Douglas County Clerk & Recorder rather than relying on a listing summary. Confirm what portion of the parcel is actually restricted, whether the lease/easement transfers automatically to you as the new owner (most are structured to run with the land), what ongoing payments (if any) you'd be entitled to, and whether financial security for eventual decommissioning is in place. And if the parcel sits in Newman or Murdock Township specifically, ask both the county and the township directly about zoning status -- as covered above, that's a real open question here in a way it typically isn't elsewhere in Illinois.