Bulloch County, GA Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Zoning Ordinance Section 1444 sets the permit path for solar facilities. Buildings and equipment must sit at least 500 feet from any residence, and the minimum lot size is ten acres; inverters, transformers and similar noise-producing equipment must additionally sit at least 75 feet from any abutting residential property. Before construction, the developer needs a right-of-way encroachment permit from the county engineer's office, which must specify a paved asphalt or concrete driveway and apron running to any access gate. Section 1444(m) then lists the documentation the developer must submit to the administrative official before land development begins: a recorded plat creating a new parcel that shows the facility boundaries and panel locations inside a properly fenced area, contact information for the infrastructure owner for the county tax appraiser's personal property tax rolls, proof of adequate project financing along with insurance or surety, proof of compliance with interconnection requirements for the applicable public utility, a letter from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources confirming no adverse impact on historical or cultural resources, and a site plan meeting the county's soil erosion and sedimentation ordinance with a drainage plan approved by the county engineer.

Mechanical equipment, including arrays and panels, is capped at 15 feet in height, and glare-reducing textured or anti-reflective glass is required. A device left inoperative for 12 months with no pending permit application is deemed abandoned, and the owner must remove it or the county can remove it and lien the property for the cost.