Tippecanoe County, IN Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Section 4-11-14 governs 'large-scale solar energy systems,' defined in the ordinance's definitions section as ground-mounted arrays on ten acres or more built primarily to sell electricity wholesale or retail; it does not cover rooftop panels on a house or a small accessory system serving one property, which fall under separate building-mounted setback rules elsewhere in Chapter 4. A large-scale project is exempt from the general lot-coverage standard in UZO 4-6. Before an applicant can even file, § 4-11-14(b) requires a pre-submission meeting that both the property owner and the applicant must attend, where they explain the justification for the system.

The site plan filed with the special exception request or improvement location permit application must then show, among other things, that all panels, mounting devices and inverters sit back 50 feet from every property line, with inverters pushed back a full 200 feet where the site abuts a residential property or zone. Panels and their mounts must clear the ground by at least 36 inches, height is measured to the panel's highest point at full tilt, and the whole installation needs a 6-foot security fence with emergency access available around the clock.

Power lines have to run underground except for the wiring that links one panel to the next. The application package must also include a stormwater management plan approved by the participating jurisdiction, driveway approval, any required FAA clearance near airports under § 5-3, and a bufferyard under § 4-9 unless the Administrative Officer waives it. Before the county issues the permit, § 4-11-14(d) requires an approved, recorded decommissioning plan and a surety covering removal costs, recalculated every five years.