Stearns County, MN Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Section 6.54.2 of the Land Use and Zoning Ordinance makes accessory solar energy systems, meaning panels serving a home or farm rather than a commercial solar farm, a permitted accessory use in every zoning district in Stearns County, subject to the administrative requirements of Section 4.11. The ordinance explicitly exempts roof-mounted solar that meets Section 6.54.2(C)(1) from needing a construction site permit at all, because the collector surface and mounting hardware must stay within the exterior perimeter of the roof it sits on (exterior piping for solar hot water may extend past the perimeter on a side yard).

Ground- or pole-mounted systems get no such exemption and are capped at twenty-five feet in height at maximum tilt; they also count toward the property's maximum accessory building coverage limit under Section 6.2.2 and cannot extend into the side or rear setback when oriented at minimum design tilt. Building- or roof-mounted units cannot exceed the zoning district's maximum building height and are treated like any other roof-mounted mechanical equipment for height-measurement purposes. Every system, roof or ground mounted, must use electric components independently tested by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory and must comply with the Minnesota State Electric Code.

Before any grid-intertie photovoltaic system is energized, the owner must give the Department evidence that the utility company was notified of the intent to install an interconnected customer-owned generator; off-grid systems are exempt from that notice requirement.