McLennan County, TX — Solar Development Risk Assessment

No specific moratorium information available.

No solar-specific county setback requirements codified [TBV].

No enacted county solar ordinance; projects navigate standard county and TCEQ permitting. Waco Solar Farm and Project Pepper both received Commissioners Court tax abatement approvals despite board skepticism, establishing a precedent for project advancement.

Mixed/skeptical leadership but projects advancing — County Judge Scott Felton expressed concern about 'entire county covered with wind turbines and solar panels'; Commissioner Will Jones stated opposition to increasing reliance on alternative energy. Commissioner Kelly Snell (Precinct 2) is pro-solar. Court divided; tax abatements approved despite verbal resistance.

Waco county seat; Oncor TDU ERCOT territory; Texas Tech/Baylor University metro; three utility-scale solar projects operational or in construction; Commissioners Court divided — Judge Felton and Commissioner Jones skeptical but have not blocked development; Commissioner Snell supportive; no moratorium possible under TX AG Aug 2023 ruling; future tax abatement requests may face friction.

Stable

No state siting board for solar in Texas. PUCT regulates utilities; ERCOT manages interconnection for ERCOT service territory (most of state); SPP governs Panhandle/northwest TX. County Commissioners Court governs unincorporated areas under Texas Local Government Code. Many rural TX counties have NO zoning authority — solar is essentially by-right without county approval requirement. HB 2527 (2023) requires counties with solar ordinances to provide a 'reasonable' permitting framework. No statewide preemption prevents county restrictions. ERCOT interconnection queue is severely congested — grid study delays of 2-4+ years common.

Texas has no state RPS mandate. Key incentives: Federal ITC (30% base + bonus adders for energy communities/domestic content). Property tax abatement via Chapter 312/313 successor frameworks (county-level negotiation required). ERCOT wholesale market provides strong merchant revenue stack. No state income tax benefits developer HQ decisions. USDA REAP available for rural projects.

Waco Solar Farm — 150 MW, Open Road Solar, Waco City PPA, operational late 2023. Project Pepper — 120 MWac/156 MWdc, Sabanci Renewables (formerly OCI Energy), construction start Dec 2025, ops Q3 2027, 292 GWh/yr. Eddy II Solar Farm — 13 MW, Cypress Creek Renewables, Bruceville-Eddy area, operational Nov 2017.

No formal project denials documented as of Apr 2026; Commissioners Court declined to expand additional tax abatement terms in some discussions but did not formally deny development rights.