Solar permitting — Shelby County, Tennessee
On file: local news, known opposition groups.
No active county solar moratorium (adjudicated 2026-09-08). Permitting: CUP per SB 2373 for unincorporated areas. Track record: denial on record — None formally denied; most developer interest redirected to adjacent Fayette County; RWE Solar Farm — 2024, Bo.
Key driver: Memphis metro; most urbanized TN county; MLGW adds municipal utility review layer; very limited utility-scale land within county; most solar development pushed to adjacent Fayette County; SB 2373 applies to unincorporated areas but urban land economics dominate
Permitting process
Local permitting pathway
CUP per SB 2373 for unincorporated areas; Memphis city zoning applies within city limits; MLGW interconnect review; decommissioning bond required
Setbacks & buffers
Not codified county-wide; Memphis/Shelby County zoning applies in urban areas
Spacing requirements
No spacing requirements codified
Size restrictions
No size restrictions codified
Penalties & bonding
Total penalty: +5 (Denial +5)
State-level permits & approvals
County zoning authority under SB 2373 (2022); conditional use permit or special exception required; decommissioning bond often required; setback standards increasingly codified at county level
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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
Grid & interconnection
TVA / MLGW service territory
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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.
- Petition · NO SOLAR ON AGRICULTURE LAND IN SHELBY COUNTY Solar
- Community opposition to xAI Colossus 2 data center (organized advocacy) Data center
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
Filter by grade, state, moratorium status, and compliance stringency. Compare counties side by side.