Iroquois County committee readies renewable-energy ordinances and sets process for applications and fees

Iroquois County committee members reviewed the county’s draft renewable-energy ordinances and discussed procedures for reviewing applications, paying for outside engineering and legal reviews, and managing application fees collected from developers.

Members said the ordinances will be presented to the full county board next Tuesday for adoption. The committee discussed using application fees to pay future attorney and engineering bills for individual projects, and staff confirmed fees will be held in a custodial account until expensed against those projects. One county finance staff member said an $85,000 application payment already sits in the county’s renewable-energy cash account but that it had not yet been allocated to a specific project because required vendor and internal-approval documents were still outstanding.

The committee agreed applications will be routed to outside counsel and county engineering consultants for review as needed; members said that the ordinance’s application fees are intended to cover those outside review costs so the county does not pay out of pocket. Committee members emphasized that, where the state statute prescribes specific ordinance language, the county’s draft follows those state requirements, but the county has latitude to set fees and other locally determined provisions.

Members also discussed public concerns about siting, visual screening and assessment methodology for battery energy storage systems and solar facilities. One member framed the ordinances as a tool to “protect the people” and noted the county expects substantial private investment in energy projects — a figure referenced in the meeting as more than a billion dollars in incoming investment — making local ordinance details consequential for landowners and neighboring residents.

The committee clarified conflict-of-interest procedures for board members who own or have a financial interest in project sites: members should disclose conflicts and leave the meeting when required by applicable county rules.

Next steps: the draft ordinances will go to the full county board for consideration. Staff were asked to confirm that application fees are properly identified to the corresponding projects and to continue coordinating outside-review assignments to ensure compliance with the ordinance.