County officials say they haven’t determined next steps after battery storage developer began exploring state, rather than county, approval

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Santa Cruz County officials say it’s too early to determine next steps on its set of rules to regulate battery storage facilities after the developers behind a proposed project in Watsonville begin to explore a path toward state approval. 

Some residents who are against the contentious project, however,  believe going through the state for approval might highlight some of their concerns. 

Last week, Massachusetts-based developer New Leaf Energy confirmed to Lookout that it’s started to look into a path towards approval from the California Energy Commission (CEC), as opposed to seeking permits from the county for its proposed battery storage facility at 90 Minto Rd., just outside Watsonville.  

Max Christian, a senior developer for New Leaf Energy, previously told Lookout that pre-application work is meant to help better understand the state’s approval process and requirements. But, he said, it doesn’t mean the developer has committed to the state route. 

New Leaf plans to continue evaluating both local and state paths for “the best opportunity to stay on schedule” to secure a permit in early 2027, Christian said. 

Until the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors adopts an ordinance, the 90 Minto Rd. project cannot move forward. Under the current timeline — which Tiffany Martinez, spokesperson for the county’s planning department, says hasn’t changed — the ordinance is expected to be adopted by November. 

“If the BESS project moves forward through a state-level approval process, the county will work with the state to better understand what the county’s role will be,” Martinez said. 

She said it’s too early to determine next steps because any progress on the ordinance “would depend on the direction of the project.” 

After the board of supervisors approved a draft ordinance in January, environmental review is expected to be completed by summer’s end. According to Martinez, that phase of the adoption process “has not yet begun.”

County officials said they are disappointed in New Leaf’s decision to explore the state option, while acknowledging that it’s always been available to the developer. In the past, elected officials have stressed the importance of moving an ordinance forward to maintain local control over projects like New Leaf’s. 

In comparison, some residents believe the state option — which they say is more rigorous than the local process — is actually a good thing. 

Watsonville resident Phoenix Artemisia said the state energy commission will evaluate things like the potential presence of Indigenous burial sites in the College Lake area, adjacent to the project site, that the county was not. 

Artemisia helps organize public meetings in Watsonville, where community members can learn more about the county’s draft ordinance and the project in general. She also started a petition against New Leaf’s proposed battery facility that’s garnered at least 1,200 signatures. 

The state energy commission’s opt-in certification process allows developers to bypass the local process due to a 2022 law establishing the commission’s authority to approve renewable energy projects. The law was passed to help the state reach its goal of having 100% of its electricity grid supply come from renewable sources by 2045. 

That means even if Santa Cruz County adopts an ordinance while a project goes through the CEC, the local law wouldn’t be applied. 

The state commission is responsible for preparing its own environmental impact report on the project and making a decision within 270 days of receiving an application from a developer, according to its website. Additionally, the CEC reaches out to local Indigenous tribes that are “culturally and traditionally associated with the proposed site” within five days of an application being considered complete. 

For those who oppose the project, there’s hope that the CEC will consider the community’s concerns more than county officials have in the past year, said Becky Steinbruner, who is a member of BAN Lithium BESS Santa Cruz, a grassroots group advocating for more stringent regulations on these types of facilities countywide. 

Stacey Shepard, a senior information officer for the CEC, told Lookout via email that “local input is important and part of the official record.” 

Ultimately, decisions are based on weighing local impacts “against broader reliability and climate needs,” she said. The permitting process, according to Shepard, navigates that tension transparently by using evidence and public input, “rather than private influence.” 

Steinbruner and fellow group member Carol Bjorn told Lookout that if New Leaf does formally seek approval through the state, it might allow for county officials to take a breath and spend more time developing its ordinance. 

“Part of the problem that we’ve been running into this whole time is [the county] is developing the ordinance at the same time they’re approving this project,” Bjorn said. “In a perfect world, we would have a solid ordinance before any company came and made an application.” 

The grassroots groups say the current version of the ordinance violates Measure J, an initiative passed in 1978 that protects agricultural land by directing growth to urban areas. The site of the proposed project on Minto Road is a former apple orchard adjacent to College Lake. The county has previously dismissed those concerns, saying there are “no potential violations to the measure.” 

No matter the outcome, “We’re prepared for the county and we’re prepared for the state,” Artemisia said. “The work continues every day and night.”