Municipal and County Resources

Are you part of a municipal or county body hoping to make solar a more viable option for your residents? These resources will help you get on the right track.

SolarAPP+

This page gives an overview of the SolarAPP program, and how it works to streamline permitting to reduce the soft costs of solar. It is free for municipal permitting departments!

Permitting, Planning, and Zoning Resources
This page contains a set of tool kits to make sure your municipality or county is up-to-date on how solar permitting, planning, and zoning works and how to make the process for going solar as smooth as possible.

Illinois Local Zoning and Building Regulations for Solar
This page contains a document written by ISEA's policy committee outlining local regulations to be aware of.

How to Work with Municipal Utilities and Rural Cooperatives

If you're interested in learning how to work with municipal utilities and rural cooperatives downstate, this presentation by Michelle Knox will fill you in.

How to Work with Municipal Utilities and Rural Cooperatives

If you're interested in learning how to work with municipal utilities and rural cooperatives downstate, this presentation by Michelle Knox will fill you in.

Illinois Solar Rights Act
Learn some important legislation in this Act from 2011. The Illinois Solar Rights Act is intended "to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by encouraging the development and use of solar energy systems in order to conserve and protect the value of land, buildings, and resources by preventing the adoption of measures which will have the ultimate effect, however unintended, of preventing the use of solar energy systems on any home that is subject to a homeowners' association, common interest community association, or condominium unit owners' association."

SolSmart

Learn about how to make your community solar ready.

ISEA held a webinar in September of 2018 in conjunction with SolSmart and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. View the recording here. Download the slides here.

Interactive Solar Training for Local Code Officials

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council offers a variety of online training opportunities.

Homeowners' Energy Policy Statement Act Amendments
These amendments passed in July 2021, and make it easier for people in HOAs to go solar. Changes the definition of "solar storage mechanism" to include batteries. Provides that the entity may determine the specific configuration of the elements of a solar energy system on a given roof face, provided that it may not prohibit elements of the system from being installed on any roof face and that any such determination may not reduce the production of the solar energy system by more than 10% (rather than specific location where a solar energy system may be installed on the roof within an orientation to the south or within 45 degrees east or west of due south provided that the determination does not impair the effective operation of the solar energy system). Provides that within 90 (rather than 120) days after a homeowners' association, common interest community association, or condominium unit owners' association receives a request for a policy statement or an application from an association member, the association shall adopt an energy policy statement. Provides that whenever approval is required for the installation or use of a solar energy system, the application for approval shall be processed by the appropriate approving entity of the association within 75 (rather than 90) days of (rather than after) the submission of the application. Provides that the Act shall not apply to any building that is greater than 60 (rather than 30) feet high, or to any building that has a shared roof and is subject to a homeowners' association, common interest community association, or condominium unit owners' association.