Midwest Solar & Wind Capacity

This area features detailed maps showing the installed capacities of wind and solar power, allowing for comparison with Midwest states and across Illinois counties. Wind energy leads Illinois' installed renewable energy capacity with 8,048 Megawatts (MW) of installed capacity across 79 wind projects (end of Q1 2024).

Meanwhile, solar power has seen a rapid expansion, reaching 2,948 MW by the end of Q1 2024 with over 87,000 projects, largely driven by IPA initiatives like Illinois Shines and Illinois Solar For All that make solar more affordable for residents. Due to the Future Energy Jobs Act (2017) and the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (2021), the state experienced a significant increase in the rate of new solar project development. Prior to 2017, Illinois featured only about 80 MW of solar projects operating in the state.

Disclaimer: Some projects, especially those not seeking to sell Renewable Energy Credits, may not be registered and captured by tracking systems such as M-RETS or GATS, and thus may not be depicted in the data visualizations below.