IL HB4956

Lowers the threshold for regulated energy storage systems from 1,000 kilowatts to 500 kilowatts aggregate capacity, expanding county oversight to smaller facilities

Requires (rather than permits) counties to mandate decommissioning plans, commissioning reports, hazard mitigation analyses, and emergency operations plans that comply with National Fire Protection Association standards

Strengthens farmland protection by requiring drainage repair procedures to follow agricultural impact mitigation agreements, increasing structure removal depth from 3 to 5 feet during decommissioning, and shortening the restoration timeline from 18 to 12 months

Mandates that energy storage system owners enter into separate agricultural impact mitigation agreements for each facility and keep signed copies available on-site during construction or deconstruction

Allows counties to establish energy storage system standards regardless of whether they have adopted formal zoning, while still prohibiting requirements more restrictive than those specified in state law