The Grundy County Board adjusted the fees solar farm projects in the development pays to meet the State of Illinois’ cap of $125,000 per project.

However, this does not mean the solar farms pay that fee up front.

What it does allow, is Grundy County can charge a $5,000 per megawatt capacity special use application fee for a license that expires after one year, which can be renewed annually for up to five years.

Development Director Alec Macdonald told the county board that the building permit fee has a separate cap of $75,000, which means the county can charge $5,000 per megawatt per application, which renews annually for up to five years.

“This creates a more objective, predictable, and defensible process ensuring the county recovers the true cost of plan review and inspections,” Macdonald said. “Taken together, these updates again reflect hte maximum fee structure allowed under state law, consistent within the new CRGA framework, which authorizes the counties to recover the full cost of reviewing, inspecting and administering large scale solar project.”

These changes were made possible by the passing of Senate Bill 25, the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, or CRGA, which funds battery storage, grants greater authority to state utility regularators, creates options for “virtual power plants,” and lifts the lifetime ban on new large-scale nuclear power plants, according to a Morris Herald-News article.

“Most importantly, this ensures that commercial energy developers, not local taxpayers, pay the true cost of review, oversight and long-term administration of the green renewable energy initiative from the state, while also discouraging speculative approvals and encouraging timely construction of these projects.”

The measure passed through the Grundy County Board unanimously.