Cook County in Illinois recently celebrated the completion of a solar project at its Skokie courthouse. County officials held a ribbon cutting this week along with solar installer Ameresco.
“We set ambitious goals to combat climate change, and we are achieving them,” said Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. “These solar installations allow us to generate clean energy on-site, reduce pollution, lower operating costs, and move closer to our goal of powering County facilities with 100% renewable electricity.”
Two of the county’s courthouses — Skokie and Markham — were among the first facilities to receive solar installations following the release of the Clean Energy Plan in 2020. An additional 17 solar projects are currently in development and, once completed, are expected to increase the county’s renewable energy usage to approximately 32% of total electricity consumption across its buildings. The county flagged 14.2 MW of possible solar capacity on government-owned sites.
The Skokie courthouse supports 1.3 MW across its rooftop and parking lot. Markham courthouse has an 806-kW array.
The Skokie solar project also benefits from rebates and incentives, further enhancing cost savings beyond the energy generated on-site. Alongside solar expansion, Cook County continues to invest in energy efficiency improvements — including lighting upgrades, boiler enhancements, cooling system replacements and building control system upgrades — to further reduce energy use and emissions.
The solar installations support the goals outlined in Cook County’s Clean Energy Plan, including achieving a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from a 2010 baseline, reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, and using 100% renewable electricity across county-owned and operated facilities by 2030. Cook County has already surpassed its interim emissions reduction goal, achieving a 52.7% reduction to date — a milestone recognized with a 2025 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award.
