Best Solar Energy Companies in Illinois, United States
The 38 best Solar Energy companies in Illinois, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Brite Energy.
Our analysis of 50 Solar Energy companies
$17.8b in tracked funding; 84% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Solar Energy companies in Illinois
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brite Energy Offers solar installation services | $264M | 140 mo ago | Deadpooled | Tim Whall CEO | 2014 | — | — | — |
| 2 | ADCO Global Manufacturer of solar PV panels | $100M | 330 mo ago | Acquired | Bernd Helfrich Managing Director | 1999 | — | — | — |
| 3 | Aquilon Energy Services Developer of financial settlement software solution | $47M | 98 mo ago | Deadpooled | — | 2011 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Exelon Provider of energy services with an electric and natural gas distribution | $20M | 88 mo ago | Public | Chris Crane CEO | 2000 | DrupalApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+28 | 7 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 5 | Lincoln Clean Energy Leading American renewable energy company developing and operating wind, solar, and storage projects | $14M | 104 mo ago | Acquired | — | 2009 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Cultivate Power It is a distributed solar and storage project developer focused on strengthening communities, the grid, and… | $10M | 35 mo ago | Series A | Noah Hyte Managing Director | 2008 | — | — | — |
| 7 | Izar Solar Manufacturer of solar powered products | $5M | 152 mo ago | Deadpooled | David Ahmari CEO | 2010 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Trajectory Energy Partners Solar‑development company that focuses on building community‑scale and utility‑scale solar projects | $2M | 109 mo ago | Funding Raised | Josh Bushinsky Co-Founder | 2017 | — | — | — |
| 9 | Effimax Solar Provider of solar power systems, equipment, technology, and related services | $150K | 164 mo ago | Funding Raised | Rui Cai CEO | 2011 | — | — | — |
Top 12 Solar Energy companies in Illinois
#1
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2008$10Mraised▾
It is a distributed solar and storage project developer that focuses on strengthening communities, the grid, and climate stability. They develop distributed energy resources and are committed to clean energy infrastructure in emerging community solar markets.
- Oct 2023Series A$10M
#2
Funding Raised · Buffalo Grove, Illinois · founded 1985$22.3Kraised▾
Developer of solar power generation projects
- Feb 2025Grant (prize money)$22.3K
#3
Deadpooled · Romeoville, Illinois · founded 2014$264.2Mraised▾
Brite Energy offers solar installation services to residential and commercial spaces. The company is backed by Protection 1 (USA's full-service security company) and co-owned by GTCR (a $11 billion Chicago-based private equity fund),
- Jan 2015PE$250M
- Jun 2014Series A$14.2M
#4
Deadpooled · Lisle, Illinois · founded 2011 · 25 employees$47.4Mraised▾
Aquilon has developed a software solution called as Energy Settlement Network platform for wholesale energy traders which connects with settlement analysts and finance professionals. The platform enables real-time collaboration and communication with a diverse network of settlement counterparties for both physical and financial energy transactions on the network built for bilateral settlements. Can be used for Power, Gas, and Crude Oil sectors.
- Jun 2018Series B$14.6M
- Feb 2017Series B$19M
- Jun 2016Series A$13.9M
#5
Acquired · Lincolnshire, Illinois · founded 1999$100Mraised▾
Manufacturer of solar PV panels
- Mar 1999Unattributed—
- Conventional Debt$100M
#6
Public · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2000 · 466 employees$20.3Mraised▾
Provider of energy services with an electric and natural gas distribution. The company is one of the largest operators of nuclear power plants in the United States. It was created in October 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia and Chicago respectively. Producing 521-MW utility-scale & distributed solar power and claims to be the 4th largest solar power producer globally. The company has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. The company merged with Constellation Energy Group in March 2012. In 2022, the company recorded annual revenues of $19.07B and a net profit of $2.17B.
- Apr 2019Post IPO$2M
- Jul 2012Grant (prize money)$18.3M
#7
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2009 · 18 employees$14Mraised▾
Leading American renewable energy company developing and operating wind, solar, and storage projects. They develop, construct, and operate renewable projects, delivering reliable, sustainable, domestic energy across the United States. They are committed to building and shaping America’s clean energy industry, creating jobs, boosting economies, partnering with local communities, and conserving nature. Their approach includes workforce development, local community partnerships, and biodiversity conservation. They offer offshore wind, onshore wind, solar and storage, and power-to-X solutions. They are focused on a green transformation, moving from fossil fuels to renewables, and aim to achieve net-zero emissions across their entire value chain. They are a global clean energy leader, developing, constructing, and operating offshore and land-based wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants.
- Jan 2018Conventional Debt—
- Apr 2011Venture Debt$41M
- Jan 2011Series A$14M
#8
Deadpooled · Champaign, Illinois · founded 2010$5.4Mraised▾
Manufacturer of solar powered products
- Dec 2013Conventional Debt$380K
- Dec 2012Conventional Debt$1.5M
- Aug 2010Series A$3.5M
#9
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2017 · 22 employees$1.8Mraised▾
Solar‑development company that focuses on building community‑scale and utility‑scale solar projects. It collaborates with landowners, local communities, and organizations. Its services include site identification, permitting, community outreach, project financing, and managing construction through to energization.
- Jul 2017Conventional Debt$1.8M
#10
Funding Raised · Champaign, Illinois · founded 2011$150Kraised▾
Provider of solar power systems, equipment, technology, and related services. They install, design, and sell roof solar panels and systems. The company also installs, designs, and sells solar carport systems. It offers services and technology development related to solar power.
- Jan 2013Grant (prize money)$150K
- Apr 2011Grant (prize money)—
#11
Acquired · Palatine, Illinois · founded 2012 · 80 employees$50Kraised▾
Offers commercial and residential solar solutions
- Sep 2013Unattributed$50K
#12
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2022 · 12 employees—raised▾
Developer of solar and wind energy power projects
- Apr 2023Seed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Solar Energy coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Solar Pv in Illinois is moving
A read on the academic research around Solar Pv in Illinois — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 40 papers.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign14
- Illinois State University5
- Northern Illinois University5
- University of Illinois Chicago4
- Illinois Institute of Technology4
- Evaporation3
- Thermal energy storage3
- Solar desalination3
- Desalination3
- Evaporator3
- Solar energy1→6
- Band gap1
- Stack (abstract data type)1
- Optoelectronics1
- Heterojunction1
- Solar cell1
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.