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Shelby County, TN — Solar Development Risk Assessment

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

56.8
Risk Grade
Fair
Memphis metro; most urbanized TN county; MLGW adds municipal utility review layer; very limited utility-scale land within county; most solar development pushed to adjacent Fayette County; SB 2373 applies to unincorporated areas but urban land economics dominate
Assessment Snapshot
Population
929744
State Rank
#37
Compliance
55%
Trajectory
50

Moratorium Status

✓ No Active Moratorium
No specific moratorium information available.

Ordinance & Regulations

Setback Requirements
Not codified county-wide; Memphis/Shelby County zoning applies in urban areas
Zoning Mechanism
CUP per SB 2373 for unincorporated areas; Memphis city zoning applies within city limits; MLGW interconnect review; decommissioning bond required
Acreage Caps
None formal; practical scarcity of suitable unincorporated land

Board Sentiment & Political Risk

Sentiment Analysis
Mixed
Basis for Assessment
Urban Memphis metro; MLGW politically influential; some environmental advocacy for solar; suburban/urban NIMBY limits large-scale land availability
Political Risk Factors
Stable
Board Members
County Mayor: Lee Harris | D | 2026; Commission: Democratic majority; Memphis Mayor: Paul Young | D

Grid, Utilities & State Context

Grid Operator
TVA / MLGW service territory
Utilities
Memphis Light Gas & Water (MLGW), 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
Shelby Farms Solar (~15 MW, 2021); South Shelby Solar (~20 MW, 2022)
Denied/Withdrawn Projects
None formally denied; most developer interest redirected to adjacent Fayette County

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