Wind Leasing in Logan County, IL: Five Farms & the Rules

Logan County has become one of central Illinois's more wind-developed counties -- three projects already turning, a fourth fully permitted, and a fifth working through review. If you've been offered a lease, are buying land already under one, or are just buying nearby, here's what's actually on the ground and what governs it.

This page covers what's specific to Logan County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

Three wind farms already operating

HillTopper Wind Farm, built by Enel Green Power near Mount Pulaski in southeastern Logan County, has been operating since 2018: 74 turbines totaling 185 MW, at a reported cost of roughly $325 million. Sugar Creek Wind Farm, in western Logan County, was completed in December 2019 with 57 turbines and 202 MW of capacity. Whitney Hill Wind Farm, also near Mount Pulaski, was completed the same month with 24 turbines designed to generate up to 65.3 MW. Together, these three projects put well over 150 turbines on the ground across Logan County.

If you're buying land in Logan County -- whether or not the listing mentions it -- pull the parcel's recorded documents at the Logan County Clerk and Recorder's office and ask specifically whether any wind lease, easement, or collector-line agreement is recorded against it. These agreements don't always show up in a standard title-search summary and don't necessarily change how the surface looks or is farmed day to day.

A fourth project fully permitted, a fifth in review

ConnectGen's Pike Creek Wind Project, near Middletown and Elkhart in Logan County, received its final Conditional Use Permit from the Logan County Board in late November 2022. The project is planned at roughly 200 MW across an estimated 45 turbines -- fully permitted as of that approval, though the exact construction and commercial-operation timeline was not confirmed in this research pass.

A fifth project, Top Hat Wind Energy, is a 60-turbine development in rural Logan County near Chestnut. As of a March 2024 memorandum of agreement covering environmental and historic-preservation compliance, the project was still working through that review process. If you're evaluating land in this part of the county, ask the Logan County Zoning Office directly for the project's current permitting status.

The state law limiting what Logan County can require

Illinois counties don't have unlimited discretion over commercial wind and solar siting. Public Act 102-1123, signed January 27, 2023, amended 55 ILCS 5/5-12020 of the Counties Code to set statewide siting standards -- covering setbacks, turbine height, decommissioning, and agricultural-land considerations -- that a county's own ordinance cannot exceed in restrictiveness, and it bars counties from imposing outright moratoriums on wind or solar development.

We were not able to independently confirm Logan County's own current, specific setback distances or decommissioning-bond formula during this research pass, since direct access to the county's zoning site was blocked. Given how many wind projects have already been sited here, confirm current, specific ordinance language directly with the Logan County Zoning Office before relying on any particular figure.

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

If you're the landowner being approached about a new lease: understand that Logan County's ordinance (bounded by the PA 102-1123 statewide ceiling) sets the regulatory floor on setbacks and decommissioning, not the lease's financial terms. Payment structure and escalation, term length and renewal options, easement scope (turbine pads only, or also access roads and collector-line corridors), and who bears decommissioning cost if the developer becomes insolvent are all matters of private contract -- worth reviewing with an attorney experienced in wind leases before signing.

If you're buying land already subject to a recorded wind lease or easement -- tied to HillTopper, Sugar Creek, Whitney Hill, Pike Creek, or Top Hat -- pull the actual recorded document from the Logan County Clerk and 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 wind leases 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 actually in place for that specific project.

Wind and Solar Energy Leasing in Logan County, Illinois

Three wind farms already operating

A fourth project fully permitted, a fifth in review

The state law limiting what Logan County can require

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

Ready to talk to someone who knows land?