Solar permitting — Crook County, Oregon
202 indexed meetings (6 energy-related), 1 news item, 1 tracked court case.
Data center industry has normalized large-scale energy infrastructure development; excellent central Oregon so. Permitting: EFU; 150-ft max / 100-ft min setbacks; hard No county acreage cap. Track record: Millican Solar — 71.4 MW; Me…
Key driver: Data center industry has normalized large-scale energy infrastructure development; excellent central Oregon solar irradiance; EFU restrictions apply but county pragmatic; growing population (Bend spillover) improves distributed solar market
Permitting process
Local permitting pathway
EFU (Exclusive Farm Use), Forest (F), Rural Industrial, Light Industrial (Prineville), Residential; BLM and USFS federal lands require separate federal authorization
Setbacks & buffers
100 ft from property lines; 150 ft from residences
Spacing requirements
None specified
Size restrictions
ODOE >35 MW; BLM right-of-way authorization for federal land solar; county CUP for private land
Penalties & bonding
No penalties or adjustments. Standard CUP/SUP process.
State-level permits & approvals
ORS 215 EFU CUP; ODOE Energy Facility Siting >35 MW; BLM ROW for federal lands; Crook County Code Ch. 17
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State policy & grid context
State RPS & clean energy policy
50% by 2040 (large IOUs) + 100% clean by 2040 | HB 2021 (2021) | ORS §469A.005 et seq.
State incentive programs
Eligible — Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program; Energy Trust of Oregon Business programs
Grid & interconnection
Pacific Power (PacifiCorp); BPA transmission (Coyote–Boardman corridor); Central Oregon electric grid
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Battery storage (BESS) P1 State-Default Permitting
No confirmed county BESS ordinance.
BESS ordinances & bylaws
County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.
Community opposition P1
No organized opposition on record for this county yet — no petition, group, or oppositional coverage tracked. Read that as nothing found, not as nothing there: absence of records is not evidence of local support.
Subscriber intel Subscribers
Researched for this county and available with a subscription:
- 🔒Project track record
- 🔒Developer intelligence
- 🔒Governing board
- 🔒Litigation & legal challenges
Energy-related meetings & dockets P1
Halo color matches the energy category tagged on each meeting.
- 2026-01-28 OtherBESS
Crook County discussed interest in data centers, battery storage, and housing developments.
- 2026-01-21 OtherData Center
County staff discussed potential adjustments to support a data center project, including resource realignment and potential contract support.
- 2026-01-12 OtherData Center
County staff discussed potential staffing adjustments and budget realignments for the data center project.
- 2026-01-12 OtherData Center
Community Development discussed several projects, including the Oppidan Data Center and two large apartment complexes.
- 2026-01-07 OtherData Center
The data center project is operational with no new major projects announced.
- 2025-10-23 OtherData Center
The budget committee discussed the current challenges and future planning for the data center project.
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State PSC dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
Local news P3
- 2026-08-07 Kotek Data Center Advisors No 232255267
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