The McHenry County Board is set to vote Tuesday evening on a trio of solar farms, but a few board members – and nearby residents – have raised opposition to them.

Solar farms have been controversial at the board, with many board members expressing frustration at a state law that restricts the county’s ability to regulate the farms.

[ McHenry County Board takes heat from both parties over potential tax levy hike ]

But some board members see a possible opening for the board to oppose solar farms with less risk of legal repercussions.

The county zoning board has recommended a denial to a solar farm near McHenry that had also gotten objections from the McHenry City Council.

County board member Pamela Althoff, R-McHenry, said the energy bill that passed in Springfield would entitle a prevailing party in a legal challenge to attorney fees and costs, and, like counties, municipalities now also have limited ability to regulate solar petitions.

She added two cases relating to denials in other counties have been decided in court, one siding with the county and the other with the solar farm, but the cases are being appealed.

Althoff also noted three pending cases in Will County and that, though not a lawyer, her understanding is that they addressed whether the state has the “preemptive power to remove local control.”

Althoff later said she had voted yes on farms because of interpreting state law as preempting county control. But she if the legal landscape is changing, that “might make you reconsider that position as we move forward.” Althoff said she’s against all three farms.

Board member Mike Shorten, R-Crystal Lake, said he was referring back to his stance on the issue that the solar farm regulations feel like an overreach from Springfield. He said he would vote against all three farms.

Board member Larry Smith, R-Harvard, said he too had voted for the solar farms in the past because of liability issues. He asked for clarification on the county’s liability.

Board member Carolyn Campbell, D-Crystal Lake, said the board members’ frustration with losing control on solar farms has been extensively discussed and she had also expressed that frustration.

But Campbell said she wanted to ensure the board was looking at projects individually and “they’re not all created equal.”

Campbell said some of the projects are worth looking at. “I would encourage us to look more closely at the individual projects instead of making a blanket statement that they’re all created equally bad,” Campbell said.

About a dozen members of the public spoke against solar farms, specifically one of the farms that would go up near Spring Grove and Ringwood roads near Johnsburg at a county meeting Thursday. The members of the public raised concerns about health risks, contamination, impacts to the area’s rural nature and environmental issues.

The board is set to vote on that Tuesday, but board member Carl Kamienski, R-Johnsburg, said Thursday he planned to pull the Johnsburg-area farm and bring it back for a vote in January if he could do that. The proposed farm is in his district.

The other proposed farms are off Seeman Road near Union and Crystal Lake Road near McHenry.

The county board is set to vote on the farms starting at a meeting that starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the county building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock.