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Solar Zoning in Great Lakes States

Solar Zoning in Great Lakes States

Program: Center for EmPowering Communities
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As energy needs continue to grow across the country, rural areas have become the prime contender to host utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PV), and the Great Lakes region is no exception. However, many rural zoning ordinances are silent on utility-scale PV, introducing significant risks and delays for solar developers seeking to site projects. Through previous community engagement, this research team found that many rural communities hesitate to zone for utility-scale PV because they lack objective data on its potential economic impacts.

By combining stakeholder engagement, economic and power system modeling, and community-based research, this project’s deliverables are designed to help communities make informed decisions about utility-scale solar development--ultimately reducing uncertainty, soft costs, and siting delays. Though focused on six states in the Great Lakes region, the insights are broadly applicable across the U.S. 

Solar Energy Zoning Database

Zoning arrangements and permitting regimes for solar energy vary widely across the Great Lakes region. Explore how rural communities across the Great Lakes region are regulating solar development, and which types of regulation are most common.

Impact of Zoning on Solar Deployment

Local zoning ordinances play a key role in shaping the development of utility-scale solar. While often intended to protect public health and safety, they can also limit development and increase costs. By analyzing rural zoning ordinances across the Great Lakes region, this study quantified the impact of zoning on deployment.

Maximizing Local Economies through Solar

This study incorporates local economic data, property tax impacts, and farmland productivity to assess trade-offs when agricultural land is the site of solar development and shows which counties may have the highest economic benefits when hosting solar projects. The factsheet and journal paper explain the impact on the cost of electricity when local economic benefits are prioritized, while the estimation model and explainer provide the details behind the economic model. 

Solar Energy Property Taxation

The local property tax impacts of large-scale solar vary greatly from state to state, and even within a state or from year to year. These property tax explainers and calculators help estimate how a new solar project will change local property tax revenues. 

August 2025 Webinar:

Understanding Knowledge Flows

How does information about solar energy spread in rural communities? Through interviews with local officials, landowners, and developers, this project maps the flow of knowledge and identifies key influencers. Then, an experiment identifies how different messaging impacts local officials' views of solar.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office accelerates the advancement and deployment of solar technology in support of an equitable transition to a decarbonized economy. Learn more at energy.gov/eere/solar.