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McHenry County zoning panel approves text amendments to align solar, wind and battery rules with state law
Summary
The county'9s Zoning Board of Appeals voted 6-0 to approve petition Z260017, updating the unified development ordinance to reflect state energy law changes affecting solar, wind and energy-storage systems, including new definitions, thresholds and time limits for conditional uses.
The McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals voted 6-0 on June 6, 2026 to approve a text amendment (petition Z260017) that updates local solar, wind and energy-storage rules to comply with recent state legislation.
Planning staff told the board the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act and related statute changes took effect June 1, and “we have 120 days from that date in order to modify our ordinance to comply with that,” said Kim Charlotte of the Department of Planning and Development. The amendment pulls in state definitions and makes targeted clarifications to bring the county code into alignment.
Why it matters: the changes standardize terminology and procedures across energy technologies and set thresholds and timelines that determine when projects must proceed through conditional-use review. Staff and several board members said the edits are largely responsive to the state mandate rather than new local policy choices.
Key provisions approved include: - Definitions: adds or updates terms such as energy storage system, facility owner and occupied community building and references NFPA standards applied in the state statute. Staff said definitions follow the statute where possible. - Thresholds: the state-imposed size threshold of 1,000 kilowatts for certain energy-storage review was noted by staff as the substantive trigger for heightened review. - Conditional-use timing: hearings for wind, solar and energy-storage conditional-use requests must be concluded within 60 days (staff said applicants may voluntarily waive additional time on the record). - Expiration: conditional-use approvals for wind and solar must begin construction within five years; energy-storage conditional uses must begin construction within three years or face revocation procedures. - Zoning districts and co-location: commercial solar energy facilities were removed from an office district listing, and energy storage systems were placed in the same agricultural and industrial districts as solar and wind (A1/A2 and I1/I2). Staff explained that batteries co-located and associated with a community solar or wind facility generally will not require a separate conditional-use permit; standalone storage above thresholds will. - Site standards: the ordinance keeps setbacks at 150 feet from the nearest residence and 50 feet from property lines, and incorporates IDNR fencing recommendations unless they conflict with the NEC.
Board reaction and vote Board members repeatedly commended staff and said the changes reflected state requirements. Jessica Beverly moved to approve the staff-drafted amendments; Bill Kernick seconded. The board voted unanimously, 6-0, to approve petition Z260017 and forward it to the county board.
What happens next The approved text amendment will go to the McHenry County Board for final consideration, and staff noted the county board may make additional line edits. Staff also said they will post application checklists online so applicants can see required documentation.
Sources: public hearing testimony and staff presentation at the McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on petition Z260017; board vote 6-0 to approve.
