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Marion County County, SC — Solar Development Risk Assessment

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

33.8
Risk Grade
Excellent
Marion earns B grade as a rural Pee Dee county where regulatory barriers are genuinely low; council actively recruits solar investment, flat terrain is ideal, and two operating projects confirm the pathway; primary constraint is limited electric infrastructure capacity in cooperative areas relative to the volume of viable acreage
Assessment Snapshot
Population
30657
State Rank
#4
Compliance
33%
Trajectory
32

Moratorium Status

✓ No Active Moratorium
No specific moratorium information available.

Ordinance & Regulations

Setback Requirements
150 ft from residential structures; 50 ft from road ROW; 50 ft from property lines
Zoning Mechanism
CUP via Marion County Planning Board; County Council approval for >5 MW
Acreage Caps
None established
Spacing Rules
Not specified
Size Restrictions
None formal

Board Sentiment & Political Risk

Sentiment Analysis
Supportive
Basis for Assessment
Rural Pee Dee county with declining population and strong solar economic rationale; county council actively recruits solar; flat terrain ideal; Duke Energy Progress active PPA partner; Florence County precedent provides comfort to council; Pee Dee Electric Cooperative cooperative-area projects viable
Political Risk Factors
Stable
Board Members
County Council Chair Buddy Collins | R | Term 2024–2028 Council Member Jesse Boyd | D | Term 2022–2026 Council Member D.L. McKnight | D | Term 2024–2028 Council Member Garry Nettles | R | Term 2022–2026

Grid, Utilities & State Context

Grid Operator
SERC-SE; Duke Energy Progress
Utilities
Duke Energy Progress, Pee Dee Electric Cooperative
State Permitting Process
County zoning authority; no state solar preemption; special exception or conditional use permit typically required for utility-scale (>1 MW); decommissioning bond increasingly required
State Incentives
Federal ITC eligible; SC state income tax credit for solar (25% up to $35,000 for commercial); SC Energy Freedom Act net metering provisions

Development Activity

Active/Completed Projects
Marion Solar (~40 MW, 2021, Duke Energy Progress PPA); Mullins Solar (~32 MW, 2023)
Denied/Withdrawn Projects
None on record

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