Illinois Court Orders County to Issue Permits for Six Solar Energy Projects

Several lawsuits are pending throughout Illinois in which solar energy developers are challenging county boards that have denied siting permits for solar energy facilities. In the recent Equity Solar Illinois v. County of Grundy decision, the Illinois Appellate Court for the Third District held that the state’s 2023 amendments to the Counties Code required Grundy County to grant special use permits to two solar energy projects that met all state requirements. The Equity Solar court affirmed that counties do not have discretion to deny siting permits for solar energy facilities that meet statewide requirements. Equity Solar was the first — and to date, only — appellate decision interpreting the solar siting provisions of the 2023 law. The Will County decision in Channahon McKinley Woods Solar LLC v. Will County is one of the first circuit court decisions applying Equity Solar.

The Will County Decision

In Channahon McKinley Woods Solar, the Will County court ruled on six consolidated cases brought by solar energy developers against the county. The developers challenged the county’s refusal to issue special use permits for proposed solar facilities despite the proposed facilities meeting all statutory requirements. The court granted summary judgment in all cases, ordering the county to approve ordinances granting special use permits for all plaintiffs by April 17.

Following the circuit court’s order, the Will County Board voted to issue the special use permits. Permits for several other solar energy projects remain pending before the Will County Board or the circuit court.

Key Takeaways 

The Channahon McKinley Woods Solar decision is among the first to apply the Equity Solar appellate ruling at the circuit court level. Similar cases challenging permit denials remain pending across the state. Despite the Equity Solar decision, some county boards maintain that the 2023 amendments do not remove the boards’ discretion to deny permits under traditional siting considerations. However, the Will County decision only bolsters that Illinois counties must approve special use permits for solar projects that meet all statutory requirements. 

The firm’s Energy & Cleantech and Environmental teams monitor legal developments of interest to the regulated community. Stay tuned for further updates.