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Jones County, GA — Solar Development Risk Assessment

Local solar ordinance barriers, board sentiment, and utility policies that affect development timelines and risk.

44.8
Risk Grade
Good
Macon-adjacent semi-rural county; increasing suburban character limits prime agricultural parcels; moderate compliance friction on CUP process.
Assessment Snapshot
Population
28,900
State Rank
#28
Compliance
47%
Trajectory
46

Moratorium Status

✓ No Active Moratorium
No Moratorium

Ordinance & Regulations

Setback Requirements
No county-adopted solar setbacks. General zoning setbacks apply; ~50–100 ft from property lines, ~150 ft from occupied dwellings. No state floor in Georgia.
Zoning Mechanism
Jones County: Conditional use permit required in Agricultural/Rural Residential zoning for utility-scale solar (>1 MW); Board of Commissioners approval.
Acreage Caps
None codified.
Density Caps
None codified.
Spacing Rules
None codified.
Size Restrictions
None codified.

Board Sentiment & Political Risk

Sentiment Analysis
Neutral
Basis for Assessment
Semi-rural county receiving suburban spillover from Macon metro; mixed landowner base; no formal solar opposition but rising residential density reduces prime sites
Political Risk Factors
Stable
Board Members
Board of Commissioners | Chris Weidner | R | Term Expires: Unknown (Chair); Sam Kitchens | Party unconfirmed | Term Expires: Unknown; John Wood | Party unconfirmed | Term Expires: Unknown; Wendy Vaughn | Party unconfirmed | Term Expires: Unknown; Daylon Martin | Party unconfirmed | Term Expires: Unknown — 5-member body; party affiliations mostly not publicly listed

Grid, Utilities & State Context

Grid Operator
Southern Company / Georgia Power transmission zone; Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC) | SERC reliability region
Utilities
Georgia Power (Southern Company), Central Georgia EMC
State Permitting Process
County zoning authority; no state solar preemption; conditional use permit typically required for utility-scale (>1 MW)
State Incentives
Federal ITC eligible; no Georgia state solar tax credit; Georgia Power IRP solar procurement program

Development Activity

Active/Completed Projects
One or two small solar projects on record; no large (>20 MW) approved projects publicly confirmed.
Denied/Withdrawn Projects
No confirmed county board denials on record for Jones County.

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Last verified: April 2026 (web research) | SolarRisk Tracker | Data sources: Government records, utility filings, public meeting minutes