12:34 a.m. May 1, 2026
Silicon Ranch solar panels along Five Points Road in Moore County.
DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor
The Silicon Ranch solar farm did not just show up in Moore County.
It came through years of public process: an energy announcement, new zoning rules, TVA review, public questions, permit-fee debates, road-protection agreements, construction oversight, and now questions over runoff, roads, and site-plan compliance.
For a county this small, the project was big enough and complicated enough that local officials had to build parts of the process as they went. The hard part has been finding the line between legitimate oversight and rules that the county cannot legally require.
Here is how Moore County got here.
The story began in April 2021, when Jack Daniel Distillery became the first distillery to sign a TVA Green Invest deal.
Under that agreement, Jack Daniel’s agreed to purchase a portion of the solar power generated by Silicon Ranch’s planned 200-megawatt solar farm in Moore County. At the time, officials described it as a more than $100 million investment and the largest solar project ever announced in Tennessee.
The announcement linked TVA, Duck River Electric Membership Corporation, Silicon Ranch, and Jack Daniel’s. The distillery said the agreement would provide nearly three-quarters of its electricity needs and fit into its broader sustainability efforts, including zero-waste-to-landfill operations and programs focused on water and wood conservation.
TVA framed the Moore County site as another major piece of its Green Invest program, which had already helped secure solar projects for manufacturers, data centers, cities, universities, and other large power users.
For Moore County, the promise was straightforward: outside investment, construction jobs, new tax revenue, and a renewable-energy project tied to the county’s signature employer.
By September 2021, the local question had shifted from the announcement itself to how Moore County should regulate solar energy systems.
The Metro Council took up a zoning ordinance creating local rules for solar energy systems on A-1 agricultural land. The ordinance neither approved nor rejected any specific solar project. Instead, it created the local framework for solar farms on agricultural land.
The ordinance kept solar farmland classified as A-1 agricultural rather than commercial or industrial. It also established development standards, including fencing, setbacks, landscape buffering, emergency-contact access, and decommissioning requirements.
The first reading of Ordinance 4.140 passed unanimously, starting the formal approval process.
Voting yes: Houston Lindsey, Bradley Dye, John Taylor, Denning Harder, Amy Cashion, Gerald Burnett, Shane Taylor, Peggy Sue Blackburn, Wayne Hawkins, Keith Moses, Sunny Rae Moorehead, Arvis Bobo, Gordon Millsaps, Tommy Brown, and Meghan Bailey.
Voting no: No members voted against it.
The ordinance later became Moore County’s first local rulebook for solar energy systems.
In May 2022, TVA held a virtual public open house on the proposed solar project and its Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
That mattered because TVA’s power purchase agreement with SR Tullahoma LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Ranch, depended on completion of the environmental process.
The solar site was described as being located on roughly 2,000 acres within a larger project site of about 3,463 acres. Plans also included a substation, interconnection facilities, and upgrades to about 9.6 miles of TVA’s Franklin-Wartrace No. 2 161-kilovolt transmission line.
TVA accepted public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement between April 22 and June 6, 2022. TVA and Silicon Ranch representatives, along with Metro Moore County Mayor Bonnie Lewis, addressed questions about conservation, land management, and next steps.
In September 2023, Silicon Ranch held a public Q&A at Moore County High School. Nearly 50 residents attended.
The meeting did not change the project’s legal status. By that point, Silicon Ranch said it had obtained the major local, state, and federal approvals needed to proceed, though several construction-stage issues still had to move through local review.
The meeting gave residents a chance to ask questions and press company representatives on concerns that had already started circulating, including tree clearing, property values, tax benefits, visual impact, and where the solar panels would be manufactured.
Silicon Ranch said the previous landowner – Cumberland Springs Land Company – had cleared much of the timber before the sale. The company also said the development would add an estimated $500,000 to the local tax base, create about 500 construction jobs, and use only about 1,200 of the 3,400 acres purchased for solar panels.
The company also said the site would include buffering, conservation areas, and panels from Ohio-based First Solar.
But the issues raised that night – roads, buffering, tax benefit, visibility, and long-term land use – would continue to shape the local review process.
By August 2024, the debate had moved to money.
The question was not whether Moore County could charge a building permit fee. It could. The question was how much – and whether that number could be legally tied to the county’s actual cost of reviewing, inspecting, and administering the project.
The Metro Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to send a proposed solar farm building permit fee structure to the Metro Council for feedback.
The first proposal was based on $1,500 for every 2,400 square feet of solar panels. Based on the estimated panel footprint, that would have created an estimated $25 million permit fee. Silicon Ranch objected.
County Attorney Bill Rieder told commissioners the fee had to be tied to actual county costs, including legal, engineering, inspection, and administrative expenses. He also told commissioners the county could not require a decommissioning plan under the lease-protection statute because Silicon Ranch owned the land rather than leasing it.
Commission members ultimately reduced the recommendation to $350 per acre. Based on the estimated 1,400 acres of panels in Moore County, that would have produced a fee of just under $500,000.
The Planning and Zoning Commission sent that recommendation to the Metro Council unanimously.
Later that month, the Metro Council took up the issue and voted 9-6 to table the proposed fee structure and send it back for more work.
Peggy Sue Blackburn made the motion to table. Bradley Dye seconded it.
Voting yes to table: Bradley Dye, Sunny Rae Moorehead, John Taylor, Peggy Sue Blackburn, Amy Cashion, Houston Lindsey, Jimmy Hammond, Marty Cashion, and Gerald Burnett.
Voting no: Robert Bracewell, Douglas Carson, Greg Guinn, Dexter Golden, Shane Taylor, and Arvis Bobo.
That vote did not kill the project, but it kept one of the biggest local questions unresolved: how Moore County could protect taxpayers without turning a permit fee into a revenue stream.
In October 2024, Silicon Ranch returned to the Planning and Zoning Commission seeking approval for a solar farm substation site plan.
The dispute came down to whether the substation could be reviewed separately or had to be treated as the first piece of the full solar farm.
Company representatives argued that the substation was “Phase 1” of the larger project and would be built by a separate contractor under a separate building permit. They said the substation plan involved concrete, gravel, fencing, and later transformers – not the full solar array – and should be reviewed on its own.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Dexter Golden disagreed. He said the substation and solar farm were part of the same overall project and that the commission needed to see a full site plan before approving any piece of it.
Highway Department Superintendent Shannon Cauble also said she wanted a separate road-damage agreement directly between her office and Silicon Ranch before construction moved forward.
Jim Crawford first moved to approve the substation site plan, contingent on sign-off from County Attorney Bill Rieder. Bobby Carroll seconded it, but the motion stalled during discussion over the lack of a complete site plan and road agreement.
Scott Fruehauf then made a motion to deny the substation site plan because it was “a partial site plan of a larger project that needs more information.” Jimmy Hammond seconded the motion.
The denial passed unanimously, leaving the substation on hold until the county received more information.
In November 2024, the Metro Council approved the agreement that moved the Highway 55 site past a major local hurdle.
After announcing the deal in 2021, the sides had wrangled for months over permit fees. Silicon Ranch objected to the projected $25 million fee, and local officials worked to find a structure that would protect Moore County without creating a legally vulnerable charge.
The final agreement included three key components: a $4,500 permit fee for the substation, a $95,500 permit fee for the solar panels, and a $650,000 community benefit fee to cover unforeseen county construction costs.
If the community benefit money is not needed for project-related expenses, it will go into the county’s General Fund.
The agreement also included a separate road-protection arrangement with the Metro Highway Department. Silicon Ranch agreed to work with Highway Department Superintendent Shannon Cauble on pre-construction and post-construction evaluations and to repair any Moore County roads damaged during construction.
Council voted unanimously, 12-0, to approve the agreement.
Voting yes: Amy Cashion, Darrel Richards, Shane Taylor, Robert Bracewell, John Taylor, Marty Cashion, Dexter Golden, Houston Lindsey, Peggy Sue Blackburn, Arvis Bobo, Greg Guinn, and Jimmy Hammond.
Voting no: No members voted against it.
Absent: Gerald Burnett, Bradley Dye, and Douglas Carson.
After years of approvals, public questions, and fee disputes, that vote gave the project a workable local path forward and cleared the way for Silicon Ranch to return to the Planning and Zoning Commission for approval of the substation site plan.
The Metro Council voted unanimously to place a five-year moratorium on future large-scale solar farm development in Moore County.
County Attorney Bill Rieder said the pause would give the county time to study the long-term effects of the already-approved Silicon Ranch solar farm near Highway 55 and the Moore-Coffee county line. He stressed that the moratorium would not affect the Silicon Ranch project already under construction.
The vote showed that even as the Silicon Ranch project moved forward, council members were not ready to open the door to more projects of the same scale.
Dexter Golden made the motion, and Peggy Sue Blackburn seconded it.
Voting yes: Dexter Golden, Peggy Sue Blackburn, Robert Bracewell, Gerald Burnett, Arvis Bobo, Douglas Carson, Marty Cashion, Bradley Dye, Greg Guinn, John Taylor, and Shane Taylor.
Voting no: No members voted against it.
Absent: Amy Cashion, Jimmy Hammond, and Houston Lindsey.
By October 2025, construction impacts had become part of the public discussion.
Residents were bringing construction complaints back to the Planning and Zoning Commission – brush-fire smoke, heavy traffic, stormwater runoff, and mud and gravel on county roads among them.
Environmental consultant Tony Grow of Grow Environmental Solutions, whose firm is providing third-party oversight for the county, said the project remained in compliance with TDEC rules at that point. He said it was being inspected three times a week for stormwater, erosion, and air-quality issues. Grow also noted the site includes 74 stormwater outfalls that must be tested after rainfall because Hurricane Creek, an Exceptional Tennessee Waterway, drains into Tims Ford Lake.
Officials said contractors had been told to slow down on the roadways, improve sediment fencing, and use a street sweeper. They also emphasized that Silicon Ranch is required to repair any damage to county roads caused by construction.
County leaders said the project remained under regular oversight, including environmental inspections, safety briefings, and decommissioning planning.
By December 2025, runoff into Hurricane Creek and mud on nearby roads were again the main issues before the Metro Council.
Environmental consultant Tony Grow said the site had been cleared, sediment basins were installed, and stabilization work had begun.
Grow acknowledged that recent rain had pushed mud and sediment into the headwaters of Hurricane Creek near the substation. He said control structures kept most of it from moving downstream and that the site was meeting state standards at that point.
Road safety was the other major concern. District 1 Metro Council member Shane Taylor said crashes on Cumberland Springs Road had increased, with five that year and three in the previous 30 days. Silicon Ranch said it was adding rock at construction entrances, increasing street sweeping, installing rumble strips, and bringing in more vacuum-equipped sweepers to reduce mud on public roads.
Council members asked for regular updates and direct contact information so they could respond more quickly to residents’ concerns.
By February 2026, the project’s stormwater problems had shifted from a local concern to documented compliance issues.
On Feb. 3, environmental consultant Tony Grow told the Planning and Zoning Commission the site was out of compliance with its stormwater permit. Because the project disturbed more than 50 acres, the developer was required to monitor all 42 outfalls after each half-inch rain event. Grow said 11 qualifying rain events had occurred since early September, but the required documentation had not been fully provided.
Hurricane Creek remained the main concern. Grow said continued problems could lead to TDEC enforcement, including notices of violation, fines, or even a stop-work order.
A Feb. 13 TDEC inspection later found what the report described as sediment loss, unauthorized discharges, failed erosion-control measures, damaged or overwhelmed silt fencing, sediment buildup, and disturbed areas needing stabilization. The report also noted that the required SWPPP documents were on site, inspections were conducted twice weekly, and no ARAP violations or unauthorized stream or wetland changes were found.
At the Feb. 16 Metro Council meeting, Silicon Ranch officials said they expected a standard inspection report, not a notice of violation, and said they would share the report publicly once received. Council members again raised issues with mud on roads, trucks turning around in private driveways, missing flaggers, potholes, and a damaged culvert on Cumberland Springs Road.
By March, the county had moved from monitoring the problems to considering enforcement.
The Metro Council voted 10-1 to have County Attorney Bill Rieder send Silicon Ranch a formal letter demanding immediate compliance over road damage, mud, drainage issues, and alleged deviations from the approved site plan.
Highway Department Superintendent Shannon Cauble said construction traffic had damaged roads in the Cumberland Springs area and raised public safety concerns. She said the approved site plan showed 11 entrances on county roads, but she had documented about 29 in use.
Cauble also raised concerns about runoff, erosion, and possible impacts near Hurricane Creek. Rieder said the county may have legal options beyond the existing road agreement, but he needed more research before advising on stop-work orders, permit action, or road closures.
Shane Taylor made the motion, and Sunny Rae Moorehead seconded it.
Voting yes: Peggy Sue Blackburn, Robert Bracewell, Douglas Carson, Amy Cashion, Bradley Dye, Dexter Golden, Greg Guinn, Jimmy Hammond, Sunny Rae Moorehead, and Shane Taylor.
Voting no: Arvis Bobo.
Absent: Gerald Burnett, Marty Cashion, Houston Lindsey, and John Taylor.
Mayor Sloan Stewart also reported a brush fire at the site that local firefighters could not safely access and said Tennessee Forestry should handle fires inside the property. He also said the state had shown interest in possibly buying about 400 acres from Silicon Ranch for conservation or wildlife habitat.
By April, the unresolved issues had shifted back to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Commission members continued to press Silicon Ranch on construction issues, including buffer distances, unapproved access points, road damage, and stormwater repairs.
Commissioners asked the company to confirm whether the required 60-foot buffer was being maintained near a Five Points Road entrance after Chairman Dexter Golden said the fence line did not appear to leave enough space.
The board also questioned whether construction crews were using entrances and exits not included in the original plans. A project representative said Silicon Ranch was working to close unapproved access points with chain-link barriers and remind crews to use only approved entrances.
Road conditions also remained unresolved. Golden asked for an update on damage and wear from project traffic, and the company said county and project officials recently drove the roads together, identified areas needing immediate repair, and began seeking paving prices.
Commissioners also asked about stormwater repairs tied to TDEC. A project representative said only a few items remained open, mostly because dry weather was needed to complete basin repairs. The company said photos were being sent to the inspector to close out remaining items.
Golden invited Silicon Ranch or LPL Solar to return in May or appear before the Metro Council. Road and compliance questions were still not settled.
The project is no longer theoretical.
It is being built.
And now, Moore County’s job is to make sure it is built the right way.
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