In June, Will County became the first SolSmart designated community in the State of Illinois. SolSmart is a national designation and technical assistance program that recognizes leading solar communities and empowers additional communities to expand their local solar markets. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, SolSmart strives to cut red tape, drive greater solar deployment, and make it possible for even more American homes and businesses to access solar energy to meet their electricity needs.

As a SolSmart Bronze designee, Will County is receiving national recognition for adopting programs and practices that make it faster and easier to go solar. Will County’s achievement was recognized at the NACo Conference in Columbus, Ohio at the Resilient Counties Forum on Sunday, July 23.

As part of the SolSmart program, all participating communities are eligible to request no-cost technical assistance from a team of national solar experts to help them achieve designation. The SolSmart technical assistance team is led by The Solar Foundation, whom will continue to assist Will County in pursuit of Gold Designation.

Picture Caption:

^{Jack Morgan (Project Manager) of NACo (on right) and Chris Walker (Project Manager) of The Solar Foundation (on left) presented the SolSmart Bronze award to Samantha Bluemer, Energy & Conservation Specialist in the Resource, Recovery, and Energy Division of the Will County Land Use Dept. at the recent NACo (National Association of Counties) conference held July 21-24 in Columbus, Ohio.}