SB1526 creates a new Division 22 in the Illinois Property Tax Code to establish a special assessment framework for commercial energy storage systems in counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants. The bill defines commercial energy storage systems, sets a valuation method based on a trended real property cost basis of $124 per kWh of rated storage capacity, and then reduces that value by an allowance for physical depreciation. It also allows additional reductions for functional and external obsolescence if proven by clear and convincing evidence, while capping total depreciation/obsolescence at 70% of the trended cost basis.
The bill also requires the owner of a commercial energy storage system to commission a metes-and-bounds survey of the project site, including access routes under exclusive control, and to provide that survey to the county assessment officer and landowner. If no survey is provided, the county assessment officer determines the occupied area, and that determination is final. The bill directs assessors to create a separate parcel identification number for the storage system property, assigns real estate tax liability for the land and improvements to the storage system owner, and allows the underlying landowner to pay delinquent taxes before tax sale proceedings. It also provides that farmland converted to a storage project may return to farmland assessment after removal if returned to farm use, and it authorizes taxing districts to abate taxes on these systems by majority vote. The provisions apply to assessment years 2025 through 2040 and take effect immediately.
The bill’s impact is to create a targeted property tax valuation and administration regime for utility-scale battery and other energy storage projects, limiting how local assessors and the Department of Revenue can value these assets. By exempting these systems from equalization factors and prescribing a specific depreciation formula, the bill would likely lower or standardize assessed values for qualifying projects in downstate counties and reduce valuation disputes. It also changes parceling, survey, and tax-liability rules for land hosting these projects, which would affect project developers, landowners, county assessors, and taxing districts.
The overall sentiment in the available record is neutral to favorable by implication, but there is no committee transcript or vote history to show active debate or opposition. The bill’s structure suggests it is intended to support development of commercial energy storage by providing tax certainty and a more predictable assessment method. Because no votes or hearing comments are available, there is no recorded public sentiment beyond the bill’s pro-development design.
The main points of contention likely concern the tax treatment of energy storage facilities, especially the use of a fixed per-kWh cost basis, the exclusion from equalization factors, and the potential reduction in local property tax revenue. County assessors and taxing districts may be concerned about reduced assessed values and administrative complexity, while developers and landowners would likely favor the predictability and possible tax relief. The survey and parcel-separation requirements could also be contentious because they place costs and procedural obligations on project owners and may affect how land is divided for assessment purposes.
SB1526 would amend the Illinois Property Tax Code by adding a new assessment and taxation framework for commercial energy storage systems in counties under 3 million population. It would establish a special valuation formula, remove these systems from equalization, require separate parcel identification and metes-and-bounds surveys, assign tax liability rules, and create a temporary applicability window for assessment years 2025 through 2040.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes are available, so there is no direct evidence of debate, support, or opposition in the legislative record provided. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears generally pro-development and pro-certainty for energy storage projects, with a likely favorable reception from project developers and a more cautious or negative view from local taxing authorities.
Likely contention centers on the bill’s property tax implications: local governments and school districts may object to the reduced or standardized assessments and the removal of equalization factors, while energy storage developers may support the predictability. County assessors may also object to the mandated valuation method, survey requirements, and limits on challenging the county officer’s site determination. Landowners hosting projects could have concerns about parceling, tax liability, and the costs of survey preparation.