Illinois Overhauls County Siting Process for Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Projects: Seven Key Takeaways

In 2023, Illinois enacted statewide standards for counties regulating commercial wind and solar energy projects, and counties may not impose conditions more restrictive than these standards. (We covered that law here.) CRGA updates these standards, and we summarize key changes below. Governor JB Pritzker has pledged to sign CRGA into law.

County Permit Fees Must Be Reasonable

The Act imposes a new “reasonableness” requirement for siting and building permit application fees and limits the number of building permits to one per project. For wind and solar energy projects, siting fees at or below $5,000 per megawatt (MW), up to $125,000, and building permit fees at or below $5,000 per MW, up to $75,000, are presumed reasonable.

For energy storage projects, siting and building permit fees each cannot exceed $5,000 per MW, up to $50,000.

In addition to reasonable permit fees, counties may recover documented, reasonable permit processing costs in excess of the maximum permit fee.

Road Use Agreement Fees Must Be Tied Actual Costs

The Act limits road use agreement fees between local governments and developers of commercial wind, solar, or energy storage facilities. Any fees, fines, or payments in an agreement are limited to a local government’s actual costs negotiating and administering the agreement and constructing any necessary road work. Local governments can only require developers to pay for roadwork that is specifically needed to construct the wind, solar, or energy storage project and restore the roads once project construction is complete.

Counties Must Conduct Public Hearings on an Accelerated Schedule

Under CRGA, public hearings for solar, storage, or wind project siting must now begin and end within 60 days after the developer files its application. This is a significant change from recent years. Some county siting hearings have continued for upwards of six or more months. The county must issue its decision within 30 days after the hearing concludes.

Project Developers Have a Longer Period to Obtain Building Permits

The Act provides that county siting permits for commercial solar energy or wind projects cannot impose a deadline to start construction or obtain a building permit sooner than five years from the date of permit issuance. The Act further allows developers to request an extension of the deadline based on reasonable cause.

For energy storage projects, the deadline to start construction or obtain a building permit must be at least three years from the date of permit issuance, and developers may request an extension based on reasonable cause.

Counties Have Zoning Jurisdiction Over Solar Energy Projects in Unincorporated Areas

The Act clarifies county authority to permit commercial solar projects relative to municipal zoning jurisdiction. For solar energy projects, the Act clarifies that, whether a county is zoned or unzoned, a county’s solar regulation applies in all unincorporated areas outside a municipality’s corporate boundaries (municipal regulation applies inside municipal boundaries). By comparison, municipalities may regulate wind energy projects within their boundaries and within a 1.5-mile zone surrounding their boundaries, often referred to as a municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction for wind energy projects.

Limits on Vegetative Screening

The Act limits a county’s ability to specify the type of vegetative screening required between commercial solar energy facilities and nonparticipating residences. Screening requirements must be commercially reasonable – though commercially reasonable is not defined – and height‑limited to avoid interference with solar output.

Energy Storage Siting Standards

CGRA also puts forth county siting standards for stand-alone energy storage projects similar to the statewide standards for commercial wind and solar energy projects. These standards apply to storage systems larger than 1,000 kilowatts (1 MW) that do not use combustion to store energy (for example, battery storage systems) and are not co-located with wind or solar energy assets. Only counties that have enacted zoning ordinances may apply these standards, and only in unincorporated areas outside any municipality’s corporate boundary.

• Safety Baseline: Counties may require compliance with the National Fire Protection Association Standard 855, titled “Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems,” but may not set more stringent standards.
• Hearings: Counties must hold at least one public hearing before granting an energy storage project’s siting approval. Hearings must be completed within 60 days of the application filing and the county must issue its decision within 30 days after the hearing concludes.
• Physical Siting Requirements: If a county enacts an energy storage system siting ordinance, it must include the following physical siting requirements, without alternation.
  • Setbacks: At least 150 feet from the nearest wall of any occupied community building or nonparticipating residence, 50 feet from nonparticipating property lines, and 50 feet from public road rights‑of‑way. A nonparticipating property owner may provide written consent to waive an applicable setback.
  • Fencing: Perimeter fencing must be at least seven feet and no more than 25 feet high.
• Noise: Counties may not set noise limits more restrictive than Illinois Pollution Control Board standards. After operations begin, a county may require a one‑time, reasonable perimeter sound test to demonstrate the facility’s compliance.
• Decommissioning: Counties may require decommissioning plans that include removal of obsolete or abandoned structures, restoration of soils and vegetation, and reuse or recycling of equipment and components. Counties may also require financial assurance equal to the estimated decommissioning cost, less salvage value, to be provided in certain increments over the first 10 years of the facility’s operation.
• Grandfathering: Applications submitted before CRGA’s effective date are not subject to these energy storage siting standards.

The firm’s Energy & Cleantech and Environmental teams will continue to monitor legal developments related to the energy transition. Stay tuned for further updates. 

Additional research and writing from Hee Soo Jung, a law clerk in ArentFox Schiff’s Chicago office.