74.9

Risk Grade

Fail

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge; Great Smoky Mountains National Park gateway; essentially zero utility-scale solar viability due to mountainous terrain; extreme tourism economy hostile to any industrial land use; strong anti-solar sentiment from commission and business community; county brand built on natural scenery

Assessment Snapshot

Population

98250

State Rank

#56

Compliance

68%

Trajectory

Moratorium Status

✓ No Active Moratorium

No specific moratorium information available.

Ordinance & Regulations

Setback Requirements

Not codified; commission has publicly signaled opposition to large-scale solar as incompatible with county identity

Zoning Mechanism

CUP per SB 2373; decommissioning bond; viewshed and tourism impact review expected; essentially prohibitive in practice

Acreage Caps

None formal; practical cap near zero given commission posture

Board Sentiment & Political Risk

Sentiment Analysis

Strongly opposed

Basis for Assessment

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge tourism identity; Great Smoky Mountains National Park gateway; county commission and elected officials publicly hostile to utility-scale solar; local business community united against anything that could affect scenic tourism brand

Political Risk Factors

Rapidly Worsening

Board Members

County Mayor: Larry Waters | R | 2026; Commission: Republican supermajority; anti-solar posture documented in commission minutes 2023–2024

Grid, Utilities & State Context

Grid Operator

TVA

Utilities

Sevier County Electric System, Tennessee Valley Authority (wholesale)

State Permitting Process

County zoning authority under SB 2373 (2022); conditional use permit or special exception required; decommissioning bond often required; setback standards increasingly codified at county level

State Incentives

Federal ITC eligible; no Tennessee state solar tax credit; TVA Green Power Switch program

Development Activity

Active/Completed Projects

None approved; developer interest essentially nil given county posture

Denied/Withdrawn Projects

None formally denied (no applications reached commission stage)

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Sevier County, TN — Solar Development Risk Assessment