Determining which agency ultimately has the authority to approve the siting of a new large-scale solar facility can be complicated. Some of this complexity is because authorities are trying to fit the square peg of a field of solar arrays through the round hole of decision-making processes initially developed to coordinate the siting of conventional power plants. And some are due to state-by-state differences inherent to our federalist system of government. In a new article, the American Planning Association (APA)’s David Morley breaks down the process of state preemption and other large-scale solar siting concerns.

This article is produced as part of the Solar@Scale project, a partnership between APA and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) that aims to help cities, towns, counties, and special districts understand and realize the potential benefits of large-scale solar development. Learn more about Solar@Scale here.