PanelCensus

Solar installations in Illinois

74,860 recorded installations — prices, growth by year, county breakdown and the installers doing the work.

Dataset updated . Sources: LBNL Tracking the Sun + city permit records + state programs + USGS/EIA utility-scale.

Installations
74,860
Total capacity
6.2 GW
Median price
$2.21/W
pre-incentive
Third-party owned
39%
lease / PPA

Most active

Top installers in Illinois

Growth

Installations by year

2005
12$10.33/W
2006
58$8.71/W
2007
86$8.92/W
2008
111$8.89/W
2009
101$7.91/W
2010
208$6.58/W
2011
238$5.94/W
2012
206$5.25/W
2013
253$4.35/W
2014
274$4.00/W
2015
501$3.68/W
2016
672$2.57/W
2017
707$2.50/W
2018
414$2.49/W
2019
3,818$2.50/W
2020
12,830$2.00/W
2021
12,041$2.00/W
2022
10,297$2.00/W
2023
20,608$2.01/W
2024
7,314$2.42/W
2025
2,216$2.45/W
2026
1,411$2.04/W

Bars: recorded installs · right column: median $/W that year.

By county

Solar by county in Illinois

CountyInstallsCapacityMedian $/W
Cook County25,528740.8 MW$2.10/W
Will County5,156222.1 MW
DuPage County4,586107.6 MW
Lake County4,281123.1 MW
Kane County2,74998.3 MW
McHenry County2,499197.4 MW
Winnebago County2,485164.7 MW$2.93/W
Champaign County1,556130.7 MW
Kendall County1,47243.6 MW
Tazewell County1,28860.2 MW
Madison County1,276107.5 MW
Peoria County1,13374.7 MW
St. Clair County1,118105.5 MW
DeKalb County809176.6 MW
McLean County79937.4 MW
Stephenson County742161.6 MW
Boone County73443.3 MW
Sangamon County72227.9 MW
Ogle County70655.3 MW
Jo Daviess County51230.9 MW
Kankakee County452197.8 MW
Henry County45030.6 MW
Williamson County41362.0 MW
Woodford County40744.4 MW
Montgomery County39774.9 MW
Whiteside County355140.7 MW
Clinton County33937.3 MW
Macoupin County33534.8 MW
LaSalle County33392.7 MW
Jackson County31415.9 MW
Adams County31013.1 MW
Livingston County302127.3 MW
Knox County28060.3 MW
Fulton County27828.6 MW
Lee County27541.3 MW
Carroll County2648.7 MW
Hancock County25331.8 MW
Rock Island County24314.0 MW
Macon County23540.2 MW
Vermilion County22552.5 MW
Bond County1995.5 MW
Monroe County1975.3 MW
Grundy County19448.0 MW
Christian County19230.7 MW
Bureau County18365.0 MW
Effingham County1817.3 MW
Mercer County18118.8 MW
Morgan County18182.2 MW
Randolph County17721.4 MW
Piatt County17311.5 MW
Washington County1595.3 MW
Perry County15485.6 MW
Saline County1526.8 MW
Marion County14925.5 MW
McDonough County14636.7 MW
Logan County140119.1 MW
Fayette County13332.4 MW
Ford County13310.0 MW
Douglas County12728.7 MW
Jersey County1269.8 MW
Jefferson County12318.1 MW
Coles County11422.4 MW
Iroquois County10816.9 MW
Warren County10838.1 MW
Franklin County10711.8 MW
Edgar County10117.7 MW
Stark County932.7 MW
Menard County881.1 MW
Union County811.8 MW
Shelby County791.6 MW
Cass County7417.8 MW
Greene County733.4 MW
Marshall County7223.1 MW
De Witt County683.0 MW
Richland County619.1 MW
Mason County609.6 MW
Henderson County585.4 MW
Pike County556.2 MW
Lawrence County4615.1 MW
Clay County4218.4 MW
Crawford County4014.9 MW
Wabash County39693 kW
Cumberland County3816.3 MW
Jasper County381.1 MW
Johnson County343.4 MW
Scott County33412 kW
Brown County30333 kW
Clark County30850 kW
White County303.0 MW
Moultrie County29674 kW
Pope County29437 kW
Gallatin County263.8 MW
Wayne County25732 kW
Schuyler County228.5 MW
Putnam County2112.3 MW
Hamilton County20510 kW
Calhoun County14166 kW
Hardin County14285 kW
Massac County12131 kW

Counties derived from installation ZIP codes (Census ZCTA crosswalk) — approximate at boundaries. Counties with fewer than 50 recorded installs are shown but not indexed.

Frequently asked questions

How many solar installations are there in Illinois?

PanelCensus records 74,860 solar installations in Illinois, totalling 6.2 GW of capacity — compiled from LBNL's Tracking the Sun, city permit records, state programs and USGS/EIA utility-scale data. (Coverage depends on what the state publishes, so actual totals are higher.)

How much does solar cost per watt in Illinois?

The median installed price across priced systems in Illinois is $2.21/W pre-incentive. Year-by-year medians are shown on this page.

Who are the biggest solar installers in Illinois?

HOLMES, WELLS L has the most recorded installations in Illinois (832), followed by LARSEN, COLEMAN D (427).