Data centers and new power in Lee County, IL
6.4 GW of new power is waiting to connect to the grid in Lee County, IL — 12 active requests. Typical wait: 6.0 years. 14 projects are built, 71 withdrawn. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Is one near your house?
We have not mapped a large AI data center inside Lee County itself — but we track the biggest ones nationally, and requests to connect new power here are on the public record.
What is happening with electricity in Lee County
Every new power plant, battery or big customer has to join a waiting list before it can plug into the grid. This is what that list looks like in Lee County right now.
Where every request ever filed here ended up
Most requests in the US are withdrawn — a developer tests a site and moves on. That is normal, not a warning sign for Lee County.
What kind of power is asking to connect
By capacity requested. Data as of 14 October 2026.
All the numbers
97 requests ever filed
Source: interconnection queues published by PJM. Parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Data as of 14 October 2026. A queued project is a request, not a commitment.
Outcome of every request filed here
| Outcome | Projects | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built | 14 | 3.1 GW | 14.4% |
| Still waiting | 12 | 6.4 GW | 12.4% |
| Withdrawn | 71 | 15.1 GW | 73.2% |
| Paused | 0 | — | 0.0% |
Waiting to connect, by type of power
| Type | Projects | Capacity requested |
|---|---|---|
| Solar | 9 | 5.2 GW |
| Batteries | 1 | 600 MW |
| Natural gas | 1 | 391 MW |
| Wind | 1 | 215 MW |
Key dates for projects here
no dated windows published
| Queue | What closes | Closes | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| PJM | Dominion GS-5 (Virginia SCC PUR-2025-00058) - ESAs signed on or after this date carry the 14-year term From this date the GS-5 large-load tariff carries a 14-year minimum term, alongside the reported 85% of contracted transmission demand minimum and $1… | No date published yet | disputed source |
| FERC | FERC large-load show cause — stakeholder comments on RTO responses Comments on the six RTO/ISO responses to the FPA section 206 show-cause orders of 18 June 2026 (PJM EL26-67, SPP EL26-68, NYISO EL26-69, MISO EL26-70… | No date published yet | unconfirmed source |
| FERC | FERC RM26-4 — generic large-load rulemaking Still at ANOPR stage. | No date published yet | confirmed source |
| FERC | Georgia PSC - Georgia Power must file large-load contracts 30 days before execution A standing obligation rather than a dated one: large-load contracts must be filed with the commission at least 30 days before they are executed. | No date published yet | confirmed source |
A date marked confirmed was checked by a person against the authority's own tariff, order or form page. Anything else is listed so you know it exists, with a link so you can check it yourself. Full calendar.
The biggest projects on file
top 15 by size
| Project | Type | Capacity | Status | Filed | Queue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson-Electric Junction 345 kV | Solar | 1.2 GW | active | 2021-08 | PJM |
| Nelson-Electric Junction 345 kV | Batteries | 1.2 GW | withdrawn | 2022-01 | PJM |
| Nelson-Electric Junction 345kV | Batteries | 1.2 GW | withdrawn | 2022-01 | PJM |
| Nelson-Electric Junction 345kV | Batteries | 1.2 GW | withdrawn | 2022-01 | PJM |
| Nelson-Electric Junction 345 kV | Solar | 1.0 GW | active | 2021-08 | PJM |
| Nelson - Electric Junction 345 kV | Solar | 800 MW | active | 2021-06 | PJM |
| Lee County | Natural gas | 688 MW | completed | 2016-10 | PJM |
| Nelson 345 kV | Natural gas | 609 MW | completed | 2018-09 | PJM |
| Nelson 345kV | Natural gas | 600 MW | withdrawn | 2008-07 | PJM |
| Nelson-Lee County 345 kV | Batteries | 600 MW | withdrawn | 2020-03 | PJM |
| Nelson-Electric Junction 345 kV | Solar | 600 MW | active | 2020-03 | PJM |
| Nelson-Electric Junction 345 kV | Batteries | 600 MW | withdrawn | 2020-09 | PJM |
| Nelson-Electric Junction 345 kV | Batteries | 600 MW | withdrawn | 2020-09 | PJM |
| Nelson-Electric Junction 345 kV | Batteries | 600 MW | active | 2021-03 | PJM |
| Byron-Wayne 345kV #1 | Natural gas | 575 MW | withdrawn | 2015-09 | PJM |
How Lee County compares
#35 in the US · #1 in IL
Lee County ranks #35 of 1,607 US counties by power waiting to connect, and #1 of 64 in Illinois.
| County | Waiting | Capacity queued |
|---|---|---|
| Will County | 5 | 4.3 GW |
| McLean County | 11 | 2.9 GW |
| Ogle County | 5 | 2.9 GW |
| LaSalle County | 7 | 2.8 GW |
| Christian County | 8 | 2.3 GW |
| Peoria County | 7 | 2.1 GW |
| Tazewell County | 10 | 1.9 GW |
| Iroquois County | 8 | 1.8 GW |
Common questions about power in Lee County
How long does it take to get power for a data center in Lee County, IL?
The median wait for a project still in the interconnection queue in Lee County is 6.0 years. Across the US, most large loads are quoted three to seven years depending on the market and whether network upgrades are needed. 14 projects in Lee County have reached energization and 71 were withdrawn, so the withdrawal rate here is a better guide to risk than any single quoted timeline.
How much capacity is available in Lee County, IL?
6.4 GW is currently requested across 12 active interconnection requests, and 3.1 GW has actually been built. A queued megawatt is a request, not deliverable capacity — most queued projects are never built. For deliverable offtake capacity at a specific substation you need a utility study, not a queue.
Is Lee County, IL a good site for a data center?
This page gives you the power half of that answer: what is queued, what has been energized, how long the wait runs, and which large load interconnection requests are already recorded nearby. The other half — the state policy position, moratoriums and large load tariffs — is on our Illinois policy page.
Where does the data on this page come from?
The interconnection queue published by the transmission providers serving Lee County — PJM — parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Every figure carries the date it was true. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Go deeper on Lee County
The interactive map plots every one of these applications, and a generated county report puts them in a sourced PDF with the date each figure was true on every page.