Facing a lawsuit, McHenry County looks at repealing solar farm restrictions

Faced with a lawsuit from a solar farm developer, McHenry County is again having to reconsider how much it does – and can – regulate the sun energy operations.

The county board is looking at walking back some conditions, including time limits, that it placed on a dozen solar farms when it voted to approve the conditions in the summer of 2023.

The repeal effort comes after IL Solar 9000 LLC sued the county and the McHenry County Board in August 2023. The county previously had voted in June to place restrictions on three proposed IL Solar 9000 farms, in addition to three others that were voted on the same night, as well as six that the board approved in June.

The lawsuit alleges that the restrictions the county placed on the operations are stricter than state law, which is prohibited. The lawsuit seeks to undo the county-imposed conditions.

Jim Rodriguez, the lawyer representing IL Solar 9000 LLC in the lawsuit, declined to comment Monday. The case is next due in court Feb. 22, with court records indicating that a potential settlement could be under consideration.

In a Monday morning meeting of the county board’s Planning, Environment and Development committee, county officials said the proposal to repeal the solar farm conditions was based off a recommendation from the state’s attorney’s office in response to litigation.

County board members have shared their frustrations about the Illinois law that limits the county’s ability to regulate the solar farms.

In October, the county board voted to approve a solar farm in October without the conditions.

The county explicitly has expressed its support for changing Illinois law, saying in its legislative agenda for this year: “The General Assembly removed county zoning authority for solar and wind facilities based on assertions that counties were using the zoning process to hamper the State’s clean energy goals. This has resulted in siting that conflicts with local planning and smart growth practices.”

The county wants that zoning authority to be given back to “counties that have consistently approved solar and wind facilities over the last five years.”

Conditions the county imposed on 12 of the solar farms it approved in 2023 – and which the county now are considering repealing to be in compliance with state law – include requiring operators to renew their permits every 10 years or 20 years and to submit decommissioning estimates every 10 years.

Solar farms have been controversial in other McHenry County towns, with Woodstock opting not to renew a special use permit for a solar farm in November after several renewals and no shovels in the ground. Officials there expressed concerns about the proposed farm’s location at Route 14 and Lily Pond Road being the gateway to the city.

Public opinion also has been divided over solar farms, with residents speaking out against the farms in public comment during county board meetings in the summer of 2023.

Joy Ganvik said she would like to see metrics in place for the farms. She said Monday that she supports renewable energy, but some places are better for solar farms than others.

“I don’t think it should be blanket one way or another,” Ganvik said Monday.

Crystal Lake resident Ed Gogol, however, spoke in support of a solar farm in Crystal Lake that the county approved in July, according to previous reporting from the Northwest Herald.

Gogol said Monday that he was strongly in support of solar farms.

“It’s very, very good for the environment,” Gogol said.

The McHenry County Board is set to vote Jan. 16 on repealing the conditions.