DuPage County property owners, including those in Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Carol Stream and Glendale Heights, will face updated zoning rules for solar panels, small wind turbines and battery storage after a committee unanimously advanced new regulations.

The Development Committee voted 6-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to approve Text Amendment T-2-26, which amends the county's zoning ordinance to cover five categories of energy systems: small wind energy systems, private solar energy systems, commercial wind energy facilities, commercial solar energy facilities and energy storage systems.

The amendment responds to a state deadline. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, or Public Act 104-0458, on Jan. 8. The law took effect June 1 and gave counties with conflicting zoning ordinances 120 days to update their rules, a window that would close Sept. 29.

Member Brian Krajewski made the motion to approve, and Vice Chair Yeena Yoo seconded it. No members of the public spoke on the item. The meeting, chaired by Sam Tornatore, lasted about seven minutes.

The Zoning Board of Appeals had already voted 6-0, with one member absent, to recommend approval.

During the brief discussion, Krajewski asked about small residential energy storage legislation at the state level. Jessica Infelise, the county's zoning administration coordinator, said additional state legislation on that topic exists but has not yet passed.

Infelise also drew a distinction between the small wind systems covered by the amendment and the large-scale turbines common in downstate Illinois. "Small wind energy systems would typically be a single turbine," she said.

Paul Hoss, a staff member in the county's Building and Zoning Department, noted that rooftop solar installations are already common in DuPage County and predicted the county will see more small battery-powered generators alongside rooftop panels.

The amendment still requires a vote by the full DuPage County Board before it becomes law. The board meets at 10 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at the JTK Administration Building, 421 N. County Farm Road in Wheaton. The next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 8, though the agenda for that session has not been published.