Solar permitting — Lonoke County, Arkansas
On file: local news, known opposition groups.
Active Moratorium; moratorium expires —confirm expiration with county planning. Permitting: Conditional Use Permit; 300-ft max / 150-ft min setbacks. Track record: Cabot Solar (25 MW, 2021); Lonoke Solar I (30 MW, 2022); Jacksonville Distributed (12 MW, 2023). Political environ…
Key driver: Little Rock exurban county; rapid population growth increasing land-use tension; Cabot/Jacksonville communities; flat farmland under suburban pressure; Entergy grid; MISO; three approved projects but trajectory worsening
Permitting process
Local permitting pathway
Conditional Use Permit (CUP) - Quorum Court/Planning Commission
Setbacks & buffers
No statewide solar siting setback standard has been identified in Arkansas law. Setbacks for utility-scale solar are set locally, by county or municipal zoning where it exists. Verify against the adopting jurisdiction's own ordinance — NOTE: the distances above are a STATE-level fallback, not a figure read from this county's own ordinance. We hold siting-rule records for this county which may include a stricter local limit we have not yet extracted. Verify against the county's own ordinance before relying on these.
Spacing requirements
None established
Size restrictions
None codified; managed via CUP/SUP conditions
Penalties & bonding
Total penalty: +28 | Active moratorium: +28
State-level permits & approvals
County zoning authority; Act 827 sets minimum ANRC standards; conditional use permit or special exception required; decommissioning bond required; setback minimums set by ANRC
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State policy & grid context
State RPS & clean energy policy
No binding RPS | None | Arkansas has no state-mandated RPS; net metering only
State incentive programs
Federal ITC eligible; no Arkansas state solar tax credit; Act 827 ANRC framework
Grid & interconnection
MISO / Entergy Arkansas
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Battery storage (BESS) P1 State-Default Permitting
No confirmed county BESS ordinance.
Local BESS ordinances & bylaws
County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.
Community opposition P1
Organized opposition signals on record for this county — petitions, community groups, and oppositional coverage — each linked to its primary source.
- Arkansas Senators File Amendment to Block Funding for Clean Line Energy's Transmission Project Transmission
- Lonoke County Arkansas Solar Moratorium Solar
SitePath maintains the most complete community-opposition dataset available, refreshed continuously from primary sources.
Subscriber intel Subscribers
Researched for this county and available with a subscription:
- Project track record
- Developer intelligence
- Governing board
Energy-related meetings & dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
State PSC dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
Local news P3
- 2025-12-03 Net Metering Solar Energy Generating 7029144
- 2025-10-06 Arkansas Wind Power Divisive First Project Live
- 2025-09-01 Invenergy Plans Lonoke County Solar
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