Solar permitting — Coffee County, Tennessee
371 indexed meetings (9 energy-related), 2 news items, 4 known opposition groups.
Coffee County scores B as a stable central Tennessee county with a functional CUP ordinance, moderate compliance stringency, flat agricultural land in. Permitting: Coffee County Planning Commission: CUP in Agricultural; 300-ft max /
Key driver: Coffee County scores B as a stable central Tennessee county with a functional CUP ordinance, moderate compliance stringency, flat agricultural land in viable areas, and an industrial community identity that is relatively open to energy development. The risk is primarily from potential ordinance tightening as more projects enter the pipeline.
Permitting process
Local permitting pathway
Coffee County Planning Commission: CUP in Agricultural (A-1) zoning required; County Commission approval for projects >20 acres; decommissioning bond required; Tullahoma Utilities and DREMC coordinate on interconnection.
Setbacks & buffers
300 ft from occupied dwellings; 150 ft from non-participating property lines; 50 ft from public roads. County has adopted standard CUP setback framework without aggressive enhancement.
Spacing requirements
None codified.
Size restrictions
None codified; managed via CUP/SUP conditions
Penalties & bonding
No penalties or adjustments. Standard CUP/SUP process.
State-level permits & approvals
County zoning authority under SB 2373 (2022); no state solar preemption; conditional use permit or special exception typically required; decommissioning bond often required; setback standards increasingly codified
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State policy & grid context
State RPS & clean energy policy
No binding RPS | None | Tennessee has no state RPS; TVA integrated resource planning only
State incentive programs
Federal ITC eligible; no Tennessee state solar tax credit; TVA Green Power Switch program available
Grid & interconnection
TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)
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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 3 tracked
Organized opposition signals on record for this county — petitions, community groups, and oppositional coverage — each linked to its primary source.
- Coffee County bans new data centers for one year Data center
- Coffee County Planning Commission meets to discuss zoning restrictions on data centers Data center
- Coffee County could be next in Tenn. to establish restrictions on data centers Data center
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Subscriber intel Subscribers
Researched for this county and available with a subscription:
- 🔒Project track record
- 🔒Developer intelligence
- 🔒Governing board
Energy-related meetings & dockets P1
Halo color matches the energy category tagged on each meeting.
- 2026-08-25 Planning CommissionData Center
Resolution Amendment to Data Center Regulation
- 2026-07-30 OtherData Center
Data center developers are targeting counties without county-wide zoning, with Coffee County currently not threatened.
- 2026-07-28 Planning CommissionData Center
Resolution Amendment, Data Center Regulation
- 2026-07-14 County BoardData Center
Revised Zoning Resolution regarding data center district designation and definition
- 2026-07-14 OtherData Center
Coffee County Tennessee revised its zoning resolution to designate and define a data center district.
- 2026-06-23 OtherData Center
The county approved the data center project with discussion on power, water, and fire protection concerns.
- 2026-06-09 County BoardData Center
Commission placed a one-year moratorium on data centers in Coffee County, Tennessee.
- 2025-03-11 OtherSolar
Planning Commission considered amendments to zoning resolutions for solar farms and subdivisions.
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State PSC dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
Local news P3
Filter by grade, state, moratorium status, and compliance stringency. Compare counties side by side.