38.3

Risk Grade

Good

Carthage TN (Al Gore's home county); rural Middle TN Cumberland River corridor; modest solar interest; no active restrictions; standard SB 2373 CUP framework in place

Assessment Snapshot

Population

20157

State Rank

#13

Compliance

40%

Trajectory

Moratorium Status

✓ No Active Moratorium

No specific moratorium information available.

Ordinance & Regulations

Setback Requirements

Not codified

Zoning Mechanism

CUP per SB 2373; decommissioning bond standard

Acreage Caps

None established

Board Sentiment & Political Risk

Sentiment Analysis

Neutral

Basis for Assessment

Al Gore's home county; rural Middle TN; no organized solar opposition; commission review workable

Political Risk Factors

Stable

Board Members

County Executive: Brandon Vance | R | 2026

Grid, Utilities & State Context

Grid Operator

TVA

Utilities

Carthage 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

Carthage Solar (~15 MW, 2022)

Denied/Withdrawn Projects

None on record

Explore the Full Tracker

View risk assessments for all 3,100+ US counties, compare states, and download detailed ordinance data for your solar development pipeline.

Launch SolarRisk Tracker

Smith County, TN — Solar Development Risk Assessment