Cherokee County, SC Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Section 13-128 of the Cherokee County Code governs commercial solar energy systems and wind farms in unincorporated Cherokee County, South Carolina. It defines a solar energy system as a series of ground-mounted solar collectors generating photovoltaic power as a commercial enterprise, with a minimum size of twenty (20) acres. The section prints no separate rooftop track, so this is the county's solar permit process for commercial arrays.

Applicants apply to the planning department and work through a printed sequence: a request for an address letter, the application and payment, E-911 address inquiry and approval, a restrictive covenants affidavit, three site plans of 11 inches by 17 inches or larger prepared by a land surveyor, engineer or landscape architect, sealed construction plans certified by a South Carolina engineer, and a facility decommission plan. Mandatory permits and agreements include a utility company agreement, a lease agreement, a stormwater NPDES permit from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, an encroachment permit from SCDOT or Cherokee County Roads and Bridges, and fire department review under the International Fire Code. Applicable approvals add an FAA letter inside an airport district, approved septic systems, payment for road and stop signage on new roads, and South Carolina Public Services Commission approval for a nameplate of seventy-five (75) or more megawatts.

Once every other condition is met, the Citizens Planning Commission holds a public hearing, and the planning department publishes notice in the local newspaper at least fifteen (15) days before it. Fees follow the county's Appendix A fee schedule.

Design standards attach to the permit: a fifty (50) foot setback from adjoining property lines and two hundred (200) feet from the nearest residence, measured from the exterior of the required fencing; solar structures no taller than fifteen (15) feet; fencing at least six (6) feet high; a fifty-foot vegetated buffer from water; and UL-listed electrical components. Before any electrical permit issues, the owner submits a notarized affidavit acknowledging the decommissioning obligations, and a fifty thousand dollar ($50,000.00) surety or performance bond is due when the application is submitted. Systems in existence before the article are grandfathered while the current design and use stay unchanged.