Solar panels in Lake County, IL

Permits and zoning rules are set town by town. Highlights from each town's own rules:

• Buffalo Grove: Buffalo Grove requires a permit to install or replace solar panels; the residential fee is $400, and review averages five to seven business days once paperwork is complete.
• Deer Park: Deer Park's residential permit application includes a solar system option, and residential review takes about 15 working days.
• Deerfield: Deerfield earned a SolSmart Gold designation in March 2024, recognizing steps including a 50% cut in solar permit fees and a dedicated solar web page.
• Grayslake: Grayslake's zoning ordinance defines flush-mounted rooftop panels as those sitting 6 inches or less above the roof, and treats ground-mounted systems as free-standing accessory structures.
• Gurnee: Gurnee's Building & Safety department handles residential solar with a short-form building permit, a registered electrician and a sealed structural letter. The residential solar permit fee is $188.50; questions go to (847) 599-7550.
• Hawthorn Woods: Hawthorn Woods participates in the SolSmart program and runs a Solar Energy Portal. Permits go to the Building Department at permits@vhw.org, with an application, proposal, spec sheets, an electrical diagram and a structural roof letter.
• Highland Park: Highland Park offers a three-business-day turnaround on complete residential rooftop solar permit applications, except for historic landmarks and properties in historic districts.
• Lake Barrington: Lake Barrington has a residential permit category for solar PV systems; first review takes 7 to 10 business days, and incomplete submissions aren't accepted.
• Lake Forest: Lake Forest publishes a solar panel permit and checklist on its documents and applications page.
• Lake Zurich: Lake Zurich's residential solar plan review requires a clear 3-foot access pathway from eave to ridge on each hip roof slope with panels.
• Libertyville: Residential solar in Libertyville goes through the Building Division of the Community Development Department, which asks for a permit application, contractor licenses, a site plan, an electrical diagram and spec sheets. Contact (847) 918-2020 or building@libertyville.com.
• Lincolnshire: Lincolnshire's village code requires a building permit from the Department of Community Development before any solar energy system is installed.
• Long Grove: Under rules amended in 2020, Long Grove allows building-mounted solar as an accessory use in any district, flush-mounted no more than 6 inches above the roof and covering no more than 80% of the roof area.
• Mundelein: Mundelein has earned a SolSmart Silver designation, a national program that recognizes communities for making solar permitting and zoning easier.
• North Barrington: North Barrington's Building Department handles plan review, permits and on-site inspections under the village zoning and building codes.
• Riverwoods: Riverwoods charges a solar panel permit fee of $10 per $1,000 of construction cost, with a $100 minimum, and fees double for work started without a permit.
• Vernon Hills: Vernon Hills has a streamlined permit process for residential solar, with the same roof criteria applying whichever installer you use.
• Waukegan: Waukegan requires a permit for every solar installation, applied for through the Building Department by a registered, licensed and bonded contractor.

Each town page has the full details and sources.

File form PTAX-330 with the Lake County assessment office. Under Illinois law, a home with solar can be assessed as if it had a conventional energy system, so panels don't raise your assessment. Lake County accepts the form through its online e-filing portal.

See how Illinois taxes homes with solar.

ComEd pays about $300 per kW in rebates for new home solar systems with a smart inverter, and since 2025 credits exported power at the supply rate. Power you use as your panels produce it still saves the full retail rate.

See the full ComEd solar guide.

Choosing a company? See how to choose a solar installer in Illinois and what a solar quote should include.