Wind Energy Facilities Construction and Deconstruction Act

• Commercial wind energy operators must enter into agricultural impact mitigation agreements with the Illinois Department of Agriculture before constructing facilities of 500 kilowatts or greater on agricultural land.

• Agreements must address construction and deconstruction standards including access roads, drainage tile protection, turbine foundations, land restoration, indemnification, monitoring, and remediation.

• Operators must file a deconstruction plan at least 120 days before construction, including estimated per-turbine costs and a comprehensive description of how deconstruction will be funded, prepared by an independent third party.

• Operators must post a reclamation bond acceptable to the Department to cover anticipated deconstruction costs; the Department shall reevaluate costs every 5 years or upon ownership changes and may adjust bonding requirements accordingly.

• Facilities are presumed at end of useful life if operators fail to operate for 18 consecutive months or fail to pay landowners owed funds for 6 consecutive months; deconstruction must begin within 8 months and be completed within 18 months of reaching end of life.