The Santa Cruz County Commission on the Environment will be holding a series of public workshops about the safety of battery energy storage facilities as supervisors are set to consider a proposal to build such a facility near Watsonville.
Battery energy storage facilities allow for the storage of excess energy, particularly solar and wind, making them friendlier to the climate than fossil fuel.
However, particularly in the wake of the Moss Landing battery fire earlier this year, community concerns about the public safety and environmental impacts of these systems have been high.
The commission will hold are three workshops, from 5 p.m. to 8 pm on June 25, July 30 and Aug. 27. The first workshop will feature several presentations providing information on climate change to contextualize the usage of battery energy storage systems. The July and August workshops will focus on battery technology innovations, fire prevention and emergency responses.
Key speakers at the June meeting will include Mark Jacobson, director of Stanford University’s Atmosphere/Energy Program, and a representative from local electricity provider Central Coast Community Energy (3CE), which aims to use entirely renewable energy by 2030.
“These workshops are a chance for the community to engage with world-class experts and better understand the opportunities and risks associated with large-scale energy storage,” said Kris Damhorst, chair of the Commission on the Environment. “As we respond to the climate crisis, it’s essential that we examine how new technologies align with our values, safety needs, and long-term environmental goals.”
The free public workshops will be held in the board chambers on the fifth floor of the county government building at 701 Ocean St. in Santa Cruz, with an option to watch remotely on Zoom at this link.
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