The McHenry County Board last week approved a 21.7-acre solar farm in Crystal Lake.

A 21.7-acre solar farm proposed for the Crystal Lake area was approved by the McHenry County Board last week, despite environmental concerns over placement in the lake’s watershed at Ridgefield Road. The action also highlighted a growing disconnect between the county’s ability to regulate solar energy issues and state-mandated initiatives.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker in January signed Public Act 102-1123 into law, which effectively takes away the power of local governments to restrict or validate wind and solar energy operation proposals. The law was an outgrowth of the Climate and Equitable Jobs, signed by Pritzker in 2021, and targets the state to have 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050.

For the county, this means pending solar farm projects in its jurisdiction have already cleared the first hurdle by law. The legislation outlines requirements for “utility level” solar and wind operations. Local government regulations are not allowed to exceed those requirements and must approve projects that meet the criteria.

A “utility level” source is meant to supplement electricity, such as provided by Excelon, the owner of Commonwealth Edison. The Crystal Lake project is a “community level” solar farm, a designation allowing residents to opt out of the basic electric service.

The proposed solar farm is situated on approximately 21.7 acres near Ridgefield Road and Tartan Drive in unincorporated Crystal Lake. (Photo courtesy of the McHenry County Board)

“If an area already has an agricultural or industrial zoning classification, then basically, the state has already approved it for us,” said Dist. 4 County Board member Joe Gottemoller. “I don’t know what the thinking was, my constituents are up in arms, and this requires Springfield to change the law.”

Five years ago, McHenry County was viewed as ripe for renewable energy development in its more rural areas. Numerous projects were proposed generating electricity on a large scale.

The city of Marengo had several solar-farm projects including an interconnector station with ComEd on Ritz Road, and a 235-acre solar farm straddling Route 20, at its intersection with Johnson Road. The city council agreed to the project in principle on June 25, 2018 to annex the 110- and 125-acre sites, and change the zoning.

Marengo Solar LLC would have benefited from a 40-year term lease for the solar farm’s operation.  “(They) are not up and running just yet,” said Nick Radcliffe, Marengo’s assistant city administrator. “They have recently begun reaching out to submit plans and begin the permit process.”

Marengo’s city council approved an ordinance removing solar farms as a permitted or special use item, at its July 10 meeting.

Further roiling the state and local waters for electricity-generating projects, on a larger scale, is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission guidelines being re-written.

The re-write is being done jointly with PJM, the largest national electric grid operator, and overseen by the FERC.

Based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the company’s website states, “PJM interconnection coordinates the movement of electricity through all, or parts of, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.”

However, spaces reserved for approved and constructed projects cannot generate electricity into their grid through an interconnection, as a result. Regulations are expected to be completed and implemented next year.

For now, the county has no options. Items like the teardown of panels and materials, after the solar farm meets its life expectancy, cannot be covered by an operator’s bond and becomes a county expense.

In a press release, from Suyra Powered LLC of Sleepy Hollow, the approved Crystal Lake project is expected to provide service to 600 homes. It must still go through planning and design stages.