Battery storage land in Lee County, Illinois

Start with the right rules for the property

The ordinance applies outside municipal zoning jurisdiction. Storage integrated with commercial solar or wind follows the applicable solar or wind ordinance. The covered storage use requires county special-use and building permits on agricultural or industrial-zoned land.

Give the project team a parcel reference or location and ask which office reviews its actual design. A Lee County mailing address alone is not enough to answer that question. If the offer includes solar equipment, describe that combination when asking about the review path.

Ask the team to explain its assumptions in writing: the use category, zoning, proposed area and remaining approvals. You can begin an inquiry without knowing an electrical rating or having a finished survey. Identify what you know and let the team explain what still needs investigation.

Reference: Lee County: zoning ordinances and June 25, 2026 adoption · Lee County: Ordinance 2026-06-004, energy storage systems

Separate equipment upkeep from a request for more land

The ordinance distinguishes capacity-maintaining augmentation from expansion of the approved footprint or added parcels. Modifications increasing nameplate capacity, adding property or increasing specified sound impacts require a special-use amendment and public hearing.

Ask how the agreement handles replacement equipment, a larger facility and a different access route. Does the developer need another signature to use more land? Is there a separate price for an added area? Who decides whether a change falls within rights already granted?

For example, you may offer a corner of a field while keeping the adjoining lane and the rest of the field in production. If a later layout puts equipment or a cable across that lane, ask for a marked comparison with the original drawing. Discuss the effect on your retained land before accepting the change.

Keep dated copies of the offer map, application map and any approved plan. Ask who will send revised drawings to you. A public permit amendment does not by itself explain whether your private agreement allows the requested use.

Reference: Lee County: Ordinance 2026-06-004, energy storage systems

Review a setback waiver as its own document

The ordinance allows certain setbacks to be waived by affected owners in writing. It says those waivers run with the land and must be recorded before a building permit is issued.

If someone asks you for a waiver, request the proposed document and a map of the affected boundary. Ask why it is needed, what design it covers and what happens if the project changes or is never built. Have your property adviser explain its effect on a future sale.

A waiver request may concern land beside the project rather than land leased for the battery. Ask whether you are being offered a lease, a separate waiver or both. Read each document with the drawing it refers to; a conversation about rental income does not answer questions about a recorded restriction.

Reference: Lee County: Ordinance 2026-06-004, energy storage systems

Protect drainage on the land you keep farming

The ordinance calls for a farmland drainage plan, including a drain-tile survey, and addresses repair and agricultural damage.

Tell the team where water collects, where known tiles run and which ditches serve the retained fields. An old sketch or a description from the person farming the land may help identify what needs to be checked. Do not guess a tile location simply to complete an inquiry.

Ask how the team will document conditions before work, investigate a drainage problem and arrange repairs. Discuss access during planting and harvest, who receives a report of crop damage and how you will keep records of the problem. Include the tenant farmer in that discussion if someone else farms the property.

Request an explanation of drainage beyond the fenced area. A road, trench or grading change could affect how you use the surrounding field. Compare the drainage drawing with the roads and electrical routes in the land agreement.

Reference: Lee County: Ordinance 2026-06-004, energy storage systems

Compare removal funding and the agreement timetable

The ordinance requires a decommissioning plan and financial assurance, with periodic updates. It also contains permit-expiration and project-transfer provisions.

Ask to see the removal estimate and proposed security. Who can use that funding? How would you learn about a lapse, a new operator or a revised estimate? Discuss what should happen to cables, foundations, drainage and roads, including any improvement you would prefer to retain.

Put the county-review timetable beside the option and payment schedule. Ask what starts operating rent, who can extend the option and what happens if a permit or electrical connection cannot be obtained. Request the evidence behind each claimed completed step. Neither this ordinance nor a nearby power line establishes available connection capacity or a rental price for your parcel.

Reference: Lee County: Ordinance 2026-06-004, energy storage systems

Send the location and the questions you already have

Start with your name, email and phone number, then identify the Lee County property. If known, add the current use, area you could consider and whether a developer has already made an offer. You can leave property details blank when you do not know them.

If you have a proposal, tell Sunland what you want to understand: the reserved boundary, expansion rights, a waiver, drainage or the payment timetable. An inquiry gives us a starting point for a conversation. It does not grant entry, authorize a permit application or reserve your land.