Solar permitting — San Bernardino County, California
7 news items, 1 tracked court case.
✅ LOW RISK (Score 28/100, Grade A, stable trajectory) — Premier US utility-scale solar county; DRECP DFA coverage across vast Mojave Desert, SCE and LADWP offtake dem. Permitting: DRECP DFA: streamlined permitting; 200-ft max / 30-ft min setbacks. Track record: denial on record — eGroup Solar — 184-…
Key driver: Premier US utility-scale solar county; DRECP DFA coverage across vast Mojave Desert, SCE and LADWP offtake demand, massive completed portfolio and active pipeline, and strongly supportive Board of Supervisors create top-tier development environment; enormous land base means saturation risk remains low despite large pipeline; some tortoise habitat mitigation costs in sensitive desert areas
Permitting process
Local permitting pathway
DRECP DFA: streamlined permitting; BLM NEPA for federal land; county CUP for private non-DFA land; Board of Supervisors broadly supportive
Setbacks & buffers
≥200 ft from all occupied structures; height ≤30 ft for tracker systems.
Spacing requirements
Per project design; desert tortoise avoidance required in sensitive areas
Size restrictions
No size cap; DRECP DFA covers hundreds of thousands of viable acres across Mojave Desert
Penalties & bonding
No penalties or adjustments. Standard CUP/SUP process.
State-level permits & approvals
County zoning + CEQA review required; CEC siting jurisdiction for projects >50 MW on state/federal land; Coastal Commission review for coastal zone; DRECP DFAs streamline desert county permitting
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State policy & grid context
State RPS & clean energy policy
60% by 2030, 100% zero-carbon by 2045 | SB 100 (2018) + SB 1020 (2022) | Pub. Util. Code §399.11 et seq.
State incentive programs
Federal ITC eligible; California Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) for storage; CA Renewables Portfolio Standard procurement; CPUC approved procurement programs
Grid & interconnection
CAISO — Southern California Edison (SCE) and LADWP Balancing Authorities
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Community opposition P1
No organized opposition on record for this county yet — no petition, group, or oppositional coverage tracked. Absence of opposition is a positive siting signal.
Subscriber intel Subscribers
Researched for this county and available with a subscription:
- 🔒Project track record
- 🔒Developer intelligence
- 🔒Community & board sentiment
- 🔒Governing board
- 🔒Litigation & legal challenges
Energy-related meetings & dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
State PSC dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
Sentiment rollup P2
No sentiment rollup yet (requires meeting transcripts to be processed).
Local news P3
- 2026-05-26 Terra Gen Lockhart Iii Solar Project Reaches Commercial Operations 0001
- 2026-05-22 Storage Wars
- 2026-05-21 Renewable Energy News Cnte Lockhart Iii Solar Project Terra Gen 1Komma5 53479
Full records for this county are part of a SitePath subscription.
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