As a proponent for the advancement of environmental protection initiatives, The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus’ Environment Committee established the Greenest Region Compact 2 (GRC2) and seeks communities throughout the Chicagoland region to pledge support of the Compact. The goals of the Compact promote sustainability and provide support of environmental stewardship.  The Village adopted a Resolution February 21th, 2019, in support of the goals of the Greenest Region Compact 2.

• Greenest Region Compact 2 Goals: http://mayorscaucus.org/initiatives/environment/rec/
• Village Resolution

Within the framework of the GRC2 goals, The Solar Foundation has established the SolSmart program to support the advancement of solar energy.   The goals of SolSmart include providing information to residents and businesses about the benefits of solar energy, providing education to staff, and making it easier and more affordable for residents and businesses to install solar energy systems by streamlining permitting processes.

The Village of Lake in the Hills is committing to earn SolSmart designation and is working to improve Village processes making it faster, easier, and more affordable for residents and businesses to install solar energy systems. The Village has dedicated staff to work with the SolSmart team and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC) to become a SolSmart designated community in 2019.  

• Village of Lake in the Hills Pledges support: SolSmart Pledge.pdf
• For further reading about SolSmart visit: https://www.solsmart.org/

For information to plan for a project in the Village of Lake in the Hills including design guidelines visit our "Projects Requiring a Permit Page" and click on the Design Guidelines pdf documents at the bottom of the page which include electrical and fire code design guidelines and related links.

For information to become an educated consumer before entering into a contract to install a solar system visit:

• Solar ABC’s, A Comprehensive Review of Solar Access Law in the United States: http://www.solarabcs.org/about/publications/reports/solar-access/pdfs/So...
• The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC): https://irecusa.org/consumer-protection/consumer-checklist/
• Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Solar Business Code: https://www.seia.org/initiatives/consumer-protection-industry-resource-p...
• Solar America company rankings:  http://www.solaramerica.com/

To assist in determining the feasibility of a project at your specific site visit ComEd’s Solar Calculator AND sunroof data explorer at:

• https://secure.comed.com/MyGeneration/
• https://www.google.com/get/sunroof/data-explorer/place/ChIJGbvNHX0ND4gRj...

To assist homeowners in understanding solar technology visit:

• The U.S. Department of Energy at: https://www.energy.gov/science-innovation/clean-energy
• Solar Energy Industries Association at: https://www.seia.org/initiatives/solar-customer-resource-portal
• The Solar Rating and Certification Corporation ( ICC-SRCC™) at: http://www.solar-rating.org/
• The International Code Council’s Solar Energy Provisions Code (ISEP) at: https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/ISEP2018
• The Solar Foundation Organization at: https://www.thesolarfoundation.org
• Commonwealth Edison and Solar Energy at: https://www.comed.com/SmartEnergy/InnovationTechnology/Pages/SolarEnergy...
• Solar America Board of Codes and Standards (SOLAR ABCs) at: http://solarabcs.org/
• The Interstate Renewable Energy Council at: https://irecusa.org/

The Village of Lake in the Hills follows “best practices” and provides a monthly report to the first responders of the Village’s supporting Fire Districts for all locations where a solar energy system has been installed the previous month. This includes the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, The Huntley Fire Protection District, and the Crystal Lake Fire Protection District. “Real Time” access is also available during emergencies.

The Village does not endorse specific installers.  The Village does require installers to register in the same manner as all contractors performing building permit work in the Village, prior to issuance of the building permit. To learn more about registration requirements, click here.

• For Solar America company rankings visit: https://www.solaramerica.com/
• For the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) trade association listings visit: https://www.seia.org/
• For the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) visit:  http://www.nabcep.org/certified-installer-locator