About Illinois Solar Map
With the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in 2021, Illinois is on a path to 100% carbon-free energy by 2050 and has enabled the rapid expansion of clean energy installations. This map is a first pass at creating a statewide aggregate tracking the status of the state’s rapid expansion of solar projects.
As of May 2023, 1,622,000 kilowatts of operating solar capacity have been installed in the State of Illinois. For comparison, Prairie State, the State’s largest coal power plant, is 1,630,000 kilowatts, illustrating just how far we've come in a few years, but still how far we have to go to reach 100% renewable energy in Illinois.
There are nearly 35,000 solar projects throughout the state, ranging in size from a single 0.6 kW solar panel to the 200,000 kW (200 megawatts) Prairie Wolf Solar project in Coles County.
The Prarie Wolf Solar Project in Coles County
Table of contents
- Categories of solar projects
- Top level solar project numbers
- Solar installations over time
- Advanced map explorer
- Data sources
- Missing data
- Team and collaborators
Categories of solar projects
All units of power measurement are in kilowatt (KW), specifically alternating current (KWAC).
Solar installations are divided up into 4 categories:
- Utility: Utility Scale Solar projects built by energy utilities
- Community Solar (CS): Community Solar projects whose electricity is shared by more than a single property
- Large Distributed Generation (Large_DG): Large Distributed Generation (DG) systems above 25 kW up to 2,000 kW in size
- Small Distributed Generation (Small_DG): Small Distributed Generation (DG) for systems 25 kW and below
Top level solar project numbers
| Category | KW installed | Percent | Project count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility | 925,300 kW | 57.0% | 138 |
| Community Solar (CS) | 184,984 kW | 11.4% | 95 |
| Large Distributed Generation (Large_DG) | 263,456 kW | 16.2% | 987 |
| Small Distributed Generation (Small_DG) | 248,708 kW | 15.3% | 33,689 |
| Grand Total | 1,622,448 kW | 100.0% | 34,909 |
Solar installations over time
Our data covers utility solar projects starting in December 2009. Data from the Adjustable Block Program and Illinois Solar for All start in 2019. Note the noticible increase in kilowatts installed starting in late 2019. There is a notable slowdown in projects starting in mid-2022.
Advanced map explorer
Looking to dive further into the data? In addition to the main map, you can browse all solar projects in Illinois by geography and category on our advanced map page:
- Geographies: US Census Tracts, Counties, State Senate Districts and State House Districts
- Categories: Utility, Community Solar, Large Distributed Generation, Small Distributed Generation
- Units: Kilowatts or number of projects
The advanced map is powered by kepler.gl, an open source geospatial analysis tool. This tool has a lot of features, including layer toggling, custom map shading, 3D mode and address search. Read the tutorial on using it here: https://docs.kepler.gl/docs/user-guides
Data sources
The raw data for this map is available to view and download here. The code for this website and to categorize and aggregate the project data by category and geography are open source at github.com/chihacknight/il-solar-map.
Solar project sources
- Illinois Adjustable Block Program Project Applications published by the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) (May 2019 - May 2023)
- Illinois Solar for All Projects administered by Elevate and IPA (May 2019 - May 2023)
- Utility solar projects (US EIA-860M) (December 2009 - May 2023)
Boundary sources
- Illinois Counties
- Illinois State Senate Districts (2023)
- Illinois State House Districts (2023)
- Illinois Census Tracts (2020)
Legislator info
Missing data
This map does not represent every single solar project in Illinois. Our data does not include:
- solar project that came online after May 2023
- small-scale solar projects that were funded before Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) programs were implemented (before 2018)
- solar projects that did not get funding from the Adjustable Block or Illinois Solar for All programs
Team and collaborators
This map and the data were created in collaboration with the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition Renewables Subcommittee and civic tech volunteers at Chi Hack Night.
- Derek Eder - Project and development lead
- Surag Nuthulapaty - Data aggregation
- Forest Gregg - Data aggregation
- Eric Sherman - Mapping and consulting
Questions? Email Derek at derek@derekeder.com
Check out some of the other climate related projects from Chi Hack Night: Decarb My State and Electrify Chicago
