Grid Scale

‘Will you leave?’: A rural Texas community pushes back against batteries

‘Will you leave?’: A rural Texas community pushes back against batteries
December 15, 2022 - Electrical engineering researcher Kurtis Buck opens the doors of the KORE POWER battery units outside the Energy Systems Integration Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). (Photo by Werner Slocum / NREL)

If you’re a battery developer hoping to receive tax abatements for a project in a small Texas county, you might not want to get your hopes up – or at least prepare for some vocal opposition from locals.

That’s exactly what Black Mountain Energy Storage encountered at a session of the Kerr County Commissioners Court while discussing its request for a tax abatement for a 120 MW, 240 MWh storage project in the county. Neither the court nor the company’s representatives mentioned the amount of the requested tax abatement for the project, which is scheduled to begin construction in Q3 2025 and be completed by Q3 2026.

Before local residents could get a word in at the session, the commissioners had a few things of their own to say. Its members knew Black Mountain Energy Storage could proceed with the project with or without the blessing of the court, but they made it clear the project was not likely to get any assistance from the county tax-wise.

“I think you’ll find out from the people that speak that you’re not real popular,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Don Harris said to Black Mountain Energy Storage representatives. “And then to ask for an abatement is kind of beating your head against the wall.”

Given the fact that the battery can only discharge power for two hours from full capacity, the commissioners expressed concern that the storage facility would be a “Band-Aid” during outages that last days or more. Jackson Hughes, Black Mountain Energy Storage’s Manager of Development, responded that utility-scale batteries are typically used when demand and prices for energy are high, after storing energy while demand and prices are low – which can reduce grid strain on typical days, but not necessarily serving as a fix for extended outages.

Additionally, the commissioners shared concerns about the potential environmental impact of the batteries. Given the dry climate and the fact that Kerr County is experiencing a drought, the commissioners wondered if the fire department could even handle a fire at an energy storage facility. Hughes said that each individual battery container is monitored as the “first line of defense,” and if abnormalities are detected, individual units or the entire facility can be shut down.

On the other hand, Hughes hinted that water might not even play a factor in a potential battery fire, as current standards dictate letting the fire burn itself out – which was met by light chuckles in the audience.

Several community members spoke at the session, and almost all of them had a bone to pick with Black Mountain Energy Storage, carrying concerns ranging from fire safety, environmental impact, battery decommissioning, and potential lack of local labor.

“In Kerr County, we will have Chinese batteries, unmanned, monitored who knows where,” one resident said. “None of that makes sense to us. We think that the overall cost of the construction is mainly in the battery – almost zero construction costs. I mean they’re gonna put some pads out there, but really the cost of the $87 million is just batteries. When it’s unmanned, we have no economic benefit. None.”

“You should be going to Houston with the abatement, not Kerr County,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Jonathan Letz said. “This doesn’t help jobs, this doesn’t help local industry.”

Similar sentiments further West

In California, San Diego County is grappling with its own battery worries. Last week, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously (4-0) voted to adopt new safety standards for battery storage installations, amid fire safety concerns from locals.

In its decision, the Board of Supervisors directed its chief administrative officer, Ebony Shelton, to incorporate new standards for battery storage concerning their location, design, fire risk, hazardous materials, and more, the Times of San Diego reported via City News Service. At a future meeting, the supervisors also plan to discuss the possibility of implementing an ordinance that would temporarily halt new storage applications.

Local residents had been expressing concern about a proposed storage project, the AES Corporation’s Seguro Battery Energy project, as it would be located in close proximity to homes, Fox 5 San Diego reported. The concerns were reignited after recent fires in the area, including one in May at the Gateway Energy Storage facility in Otay Mesa. AES said it would include fire safety and mitigation methods in its plan.

Supervisor Jim Desmond noted the recent fires in Otay Mesa and Valley Center and said he wants to prevent the installation of new battery storage projects near neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, and other public areas, City News Service reported.

From 2018 to 2024, battery storage capacity in California increased from 500 MW to more than 10,300 MW, with an additional 3,800 MW planned to come online by the end of 2024, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC). The state projects 52,000 MW of battery storage will be needed by 2045.

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