Georgia Recommended Solar Siting Practices
- CURRENT VERSION Recommended Practices for the Responsible Siting and Design of Solar Development in Georgia Version 2.0, Released May 2024
- Version 2.0: Executive Summary
USSSI Webinars
- Supporting Plant Conservation in Solar Development, July 22, 2025: REGISTER
- Building Relationships in Solar Development, March 19, 2025: Recording, Slides, Q & A
- Sedimentation & Erosion Control, December 17, 2024: Recording, Presentation Slides, Q&A
- Dig Deep into Wildlife Found on Large Solar Facilities, August 14, 2024: Recording, Slides
- Recommended Practices for Responsible Siting and Design of Solar Development in Georgia, September 29, 2023: Recording, Slides
Solar Development and Site Selection
- The Nature Conservancy's Georgia Low-Impact Siting Tool
- The Chesapeake Bay Foundation. 2020. Principles and Practices for Realizing the Necessity and Promise of Solar Power: https://www.cbf.org/document-library/cbf-guides-factsheets/principles-and-practices-for-solar-power.pdf
- The Nature Conservancy in North Carolina. 2023. Principles of Low Impact Solar Siting and Design: https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/2023SolarGuidanceTNCNC.pdf
- Innovative Solar Practices Integrated with Rural Economies and Ecosystems (InSPIRE). Aug 2022: https://openei.org/wiki/InSPIRE
- Low-Impact Solar Development Strategies Primer: https://openei.org/wiki/InSPIRE/Primer
- American Planning Association. 2019. Planning for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Facilities: https://www.planning.org/pas/memo/2019/sep/
- Center for Rural Affairs. Clean Energy Policy – Siting Library (Accessed 2023): https://www.cfra.org/cleanenergysiting
- PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. 2022. Conservation Considerations for Grid-Scale Solar Systems in Pennsylvania: https://elibrary.dcnr.pa.gov/GetDocument?docId=4659215&DocName=Conservation_Considera tions_for_Grid-Scale_Solar_Systems_Pennsylvania_Sept2022.pdf
- Environmental Guidance Document. Georgia Power Company Renewable Development Programs. September 2023: https://resources.georgiapower.com/content/docs/2023_0930_Final_Env_Guidance_Document.pdf
Site Design
- Colorado Division of Wildlife. 2009. Fencing with Wildlife in Mind: https://wildlifefriendly.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/09/fencingwithwildlifeinmind_coloradodow.pdf
- Yale Center for Business and the Environment. 2019. Maximizing Land Use Benefits from Utility Scale Solar: https://cbey.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2019- 12/MaximizingLandUseBenefitsFromUtility-ScaleSolar_0.pdf
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). 2022. The 5 Cs of Agrivoltaic Success Factors in the United States: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/83566.pdf
- Solar Energy Technologies Office. Farmer’s Guide to Going Solar: https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/farmers-guide-going-solar
- Great Plains Institute. 2021. Photovoltaic Stormwater Management Research and Testing (PVSMaRT) Barriers and Best Practices: https://betterenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PVSMaRT-Barriers-and-Best-Practices.pdf
- Great Plains Institute. 2023. Best Practices: Photovoltaic Stormwater Management Research and Testing (PV-SMaRT): https://betterenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/PV-SMaRT-BestPractice.pdf
Native Plant and Pollinator Resources
- Solar Energy Technologies Office. Pollinator Habitat Aligned with Solar Energy (PHASE): https://rightofway.erc.uic.edu/phase
- Energy Resources Center. Pollinator Habitat Scorecard Tier 1 v 2.1: https://rightofway.erc.uic.edu/pollinator-habitat-scorecard/
- Clean Energy States Alliance. 2020. State Pollinator-Friendly Solar Initiatives: https://www.cesa.org/wp-content/uploads/State-Pollinator-Friendly-Solar-Initiatives.pdf
- AgriSolar Clearinghouse. 2022. Pollinator-Friendly Solar Scorecards: https://www.agrisolarclearinghouse.org/pollinator-friendly-solar-scorecards/
- NREL. 2020. Capital Costs for Dual-Use Photovoltaic Installations: 2020 Benchmark for GroundMounted PV Systems with Pollinator-Friendly Vegetation, Grazing, and Crops: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77811.pdf
- NREL. 2023. Vegetation Management Cost and Maintenance Implications of Different Ground Covers at Utility-Scale Solar Sites: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5895
- North Carolina Technical Guidance for Native Plantings on Solar Sites. V2 May 2022: http://ncpollinatoralliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/NC-Solar-Technical-GuidanceFINAL-May-2022.pdf
- Prairie Establishment & Maintenance Technical Guidance for Solar Projects: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/publications/ewr/prairie_solar_tech_guidance.pdf
- Fresh Energy. The Center for Pollinators in Energy: https://fresh-energy.org/beeslovesolar
- North Carolina Pollinator Conservation Alliance. Energy Committee: http://ncpollinatoralliance.org/energy/
- South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. 2018. South Carolina Solar Habitat Act. https://www.dnr.sc.gov/solar/
- EPRI. 2019. Overview of Pollinator-Friendly Solar Energy: https://www.epri.com/research/products/000000003002014869
