Chester County, PA — Solar Development Risk Assessment

No Moratorium

None codified at county level. Municipal (township/borough) setbacks govern.

Municipal Planning Board/Zoning Hearing Board: CUP or Special Exception. No county-level siting authority in PA; each municipality has own zoning ordinance.

Mixed — high-income agricultural preservation sentiment; some municipalities proactively permissive; Act 43 farmland issues

Affluent rural western portions have utility-scale potential; strong preservation ethic; agricultural district complications; some solar-friendly townships

Improving

Local permit: Conditional Use or Special Exception in agricultural zoning district; governed by PA Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), 53 P.S. §10101 et seq. No statewide preemption of local ordinances — municipalities and counties may restrict or prohibit utility-scale solar without state override. ~5% of PA's 2,559 municipal codes explicitly address grid-scale solar (Penn State Dickinson Law, 2023); most projects require ordinance amendment or variance. No state CPCN requirement for solar. Net metering available under PA Act 35 of 2007. AEPS Act 213 of 2004: ~18% renewable energy standard; no significant solar carve-out.

PA Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS): 18% Tier I renewable by 2021 (met); no solar-specific carve-out in AEPS — PA's renewable credit market is small vs. NJ/MD. Net metering: PA Act 35 of 2007; net metering for systems up to 5 MW; PPL, PECO, Met-Ed, West Penn, Penelec, Penn Power offer programs. SREC market: very limited; PA SRECs trade at near-floor value. USDA REAP grants and loans: available for rural projects. PACE financing: available in Allegheny, Philadelphia, and other PA counties. Solar not preempted: all PA utility-scale permitting at local zoning level. Utility varies by county: PECO (Philadelphia/SE PA); PPL (eastern/central PA); West Penn Power (FirstEnergy, SW/western PA); Met-Ed (eastern border); Penelec (Allegheny/NW PA areas); Duquesne Light (Allegheny County metro).

Chester County ranks #2 in PA for solar capacity (839 installations, 20.88 MW). Longwood Gardens | 1.57 MW | Kennett Square, Chester County | operational 2011 | 10 acres | ~30% of Gardens' yearly energy. Chester/Bucks/Delaware/Montgomery: Sustainable Energy Partnership (SEP) formed Aug 2024 — goal 100% renewable county operations by 2035 (chesco.org). PECO Energy serves Chester County. High income suburban county; many institutional/commercial solar projects.

No confirmed township-level solar denial on record for Chester County as of Mar 2026. PA has no statewide solar siting authority — township/borough zoning controls. Contact individual township zoning offices in Chester County for recent CUP history.