57.4

Risk Grade

Fair

Largest county by population in the US (10M+); LADWP (separate balancing authority) serves city of LA; SCE serves unincorporated areas and many cities; extremely limited utility-scale land within developed areas; massive rooftop solar market (NEM 3.0 dampened economics but large existing base); Antelope Valley unincorporated area is primary utility-scale zone; high compliance burden across both utility territories; C-grade reflects utility-scale constraint despite enormous rooftop market

Assessment Snapshot

Population

10014009

State Rank

#38

Compliance

53%

Trajectory

Moratorium Status

✓ No Active Moratorium

No specific moratorium information available.

Ordinance & Regulations

Setback Requirements

500 ft from residential structures; 150 ft from property lines; additional setbacks in hillside and fire-risk overlay zones

Zoning Mechanism

Conditional Use Permit (CUP); CEQA required; LADWP or SCE interconnection application required depending on service territory; LA County Fire Department review in High Fire Hazard Severity Zones

Acreage Caps

None specified for utility-scale; individual projects reviewed

Spacing Rules

None specified

Size Restrictions

Projects >1 MW in unincorporated areas require CUP; LADWP and SCE have separate interconnection queues

Board Sentiment & Political Risk

Sentiment Analysis

Mixed — very progressive on climate; massive rooftop solar adoption; utility-scale ground-mount constrained by density; Antelope Valley unincorporated areas more receptive

Basis for Assessment

LA County BOS votes; LADWP board proceedings; CEQA records; Antelope Valley planning hearings; IRP documents

Political Risk Factors

Stable — Worsening

Board Members

Lindsey Horvath | D | 2026; Holly Mitchell | D | 2028; Janice Hahn | D | 2026; Hilda Solis | D | 2028; Kathryn Barger | R | 2026

Grid, Utilities & State Context

Grid Operator

LADWP — City of LA (separate balancing authority); CAISO — SCE territory (unincorporated and other cities)

Utilities

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) — City of LA, Southern California Edison (SCE) — unincorporated county and most other cities

State Permitting Process

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

State Incentives

Federal ITC eligible; California Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) for storage; CA Renewables Portfolio Standard procurement; CPUC approved procurement programs

Development Activity

Active/Completed Projects

Antelope Valley Solar Ranch (250 MW, First Solar, Lancaster area, 2013); Desert Sunlight phases (various, Palmdale adjacent); multiple distributed and commercial rooftop installations throughout LA metro (thousands of MW aggregate rooftop); limited new utility-scale ground-mount in developed areas

Denied/Withdrawn Projects

None confirmed — several Antelope Valley projects faced CEQA challenges but proceeded

Explore the Full Tracker

View risk assessments for all 3,100+ US counties, compare states, and download detailed ordinance data for your solar development pipeline.

Launch SolarRisk Tracker

Los Angeles County, CA — Solar Development Risk Assessment