St. Clair County
St. Clair County, Illinois: solar permitting grade C (score 46/100, Elevated Risk). Score has been stable over the last 12 months. Primary-source ordinance and board-vote data on SitePath.
Public summary
| Grade | C · Elevated Risk · Score 46/100 |
| Population | 260,077 |
| Solar ordinance | Active, restrictive solar ordinance |
| Active moratorium | None on record |
| Regulatory trajectory | Stable (no material ordinance movement) |
| 12-month score movement | Stable |
| Last verified | 2026-05-02 |
Developer outlook
St. Clair County carries elevated permitting risk. Developers should budget additional time for ordinance review, public hearing preparation, and community engagement. Illinois's state RPS policy provides a supportive macro backdrop for renewables, even where individual county ordinances are restrictive. Market saturation is elevated in this area — expect competition for prime land parcels and interconnection capacity.
Local intel
No energy-related meetings, PSC dockets, or named opposition tracked for this county yet. See indexed calendar →
Nearby counties where SitePath is tracking energy activity: Monroe County (≈19 mi) · Saint Louis City (≈21 mi) · Madison County (≈25 mi)
Cities, towns & townships
Local governments in St. Clair County. An incorporated city, town or village can adopt its own zoning, separate from the county’s.
- Belleville city
- Centreville city
- Collinsville citypartly in this county
- Columbia citypartly in this county
- East St. Louis city
- Fairview Heights city
- Lebanon city
- Madison citypartly in this county
- Mascoutah city
- O'Fallon city
- Alorton village
- Brooklyn village
- Cahokia village
- Caseyville village
- Dupo villagepartly in this county
- East Carondelet village
- Fairmont City villagepartly in this county
- Fayetteville village
- Freeburg village
- Hecker villagepartly in this county
- Lenzburg village
- Marissa village
- Millstadt village
- New Athens village
Show all
- New Baden villagepartly in this county
- Sauget village
- Shiloh village
- Smithton village
- St. Libory village
- Summerfield village
- Swansea village
- Washington Park village
- Canteen township
- Caseyville township
- Centreville township
- East St. Louis township
- Engelmann township
- Fayetteville township
- Freeburg township
- Lebanon township
- Lenzburg township
- Marissa township
- Mascoutah township
- Millstadt township
- New Athens township
- O'Fallon township
- Prairie Du Long township
- Shiloh Valley township
- Smithton township
- St. Clair township
- Stites township
- Stookey township
- Sugar Loaf township
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, incorporated places and county subdivisions with an active government.
Nearby counties
- Monroe County · ≈19 miC50—
- Saint Louis City, MO · ≈21 miD52—
- Madison County · ≈25 miC42—
- Washington County · ≈29 miB39—
- Clinton County · ≈29 miC45—
- Randolph County · ≈29 miC43—
Compare these counties side-by-side →
St. Clair County ranks #67 of 102 ranked Illinois counties (1 = lowest permitting risk). Lowest-risk in Illinois: DeWitt County (A · 25), Bureau County (A · 26), Edgar County (A · 27). See all Illinois county grades →
Want the full record?
Setback distances, board vote histories, source documents, and ordinance amendments are available in the full county profile. The map is free; a walkthrough shows you the underlying record.
About this score
Every U.S. county is scored 0–100 on solar permitting risk (lower is friendlier to development). The grade is a weighted composite of compliance stringency, market saturation, regulatory trajectory, and data uncertainty. Every figure traces back to a primary government document. Read the full methodology →
Related reading
SitePath Intelligence is a research platform. Data verified as of 2026-05-02. Scores update on a quarterly review cycle.