SolarRisk Tracker / Explore / LA / Vermilion Parish

Vermilion Parish County, LA — Solar Development Risk Assessment

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

44.3
Risk Grade
Good
South Louisiana coastal Acadiana parish; Abbeville seat; Entergy Louisiana and SLEMCO MISO grid; flat coastal prairie with extensive sugarcane and rice agriculture; hurricane exposure adds modest risk premium on trajectory and uncertainty; density of 38.0/sq mi with viable rural parcels; Police Jury supportive; SLEMCO cooperative service territory favorable for smaller distributed projects; B-grade reflects flat coastal prairie viability, permissive CUP, and modest hurricane uncertainty offset by low compliance complexity
Assessment Snapshot
Population
58410
State Rank
#22
Compliance
35%
Trajectory
35

Moratorium Status

✓ No Active Moratorium
No specific moratorium information available.

Ordinance & Regulations

Setback Requirements
150 ft from property lines; 300 ft from occupied structures; wind load engineering required for coastal portions; Louisiana Coastal Zone Management Act applies to extreme southern portions
Zoning Mechanism
Conditional Use Permit (CUP) — Vermilion Parish Police Jury
Acreage Caps
None established
Spacing Rules
None established
Size Restrictions
None established

Board Sentiment & Political Risk

Sentiment Analysis
Neutral — Cajun agricultural culture open to lease income; Police Jury pro-economic development; coastal exposure acknowledged but not a strong political barrier; SLEMCO co-op territory favorable to distributed development
Basis for Assessment
Vermilion Parish Police Jury; The Abbeville Meridional; Entergy Louisiana; SLEMCO; LDNR Coastal Management; MISO queue
Political Risk Factors
Stable
Board Members
Vermilion Parish President + Police Jury — vermilionparishpolice.org

Grid, Utilities & State Context

Grid Operator
MISO / Entergy Louisiana
Utilities
Entergy Louisiana, SLEMCO (South Louisiana Electric Membership Corporation)
State Permitting Process
Parish zoning authority; no state solar preemption; conditional use permit typically required for utility-scale (>1 MW); no mandatory decommissioning bond statewide (some parishes require it)
State Incentives
Federal ITC eligible; Louisiana sales tax exemption for solar equipment; Louisiana property tax exemption for solar; no state income tax credit for commercial solar

Development Activity

Active/Completed Projects
Abbeville-area agricultural solar ground-mount on coastal prairie (approx. 2 projects, 12–18 MW, 2021-2022)
Denied/Withdrawn Projects
None known

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Last verified: 2026-04-02 | SolarRisk Tracker | Data sources: Government records, utility filings, public meeting minutes