The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted to put off passing new rules governing battery storage facilities for as long as three months, after several supervisors raised concerns with a proposed ordinance drafted by the county.
The unanimous decision by elected officials Tuesday afternoon will require staff to incorporate additional safety and environmental recommendations into the the county’s current draft ordinance. County staff will bring back a new version of the proposed legislation on or before the board’s second meeting in March.
The decision comes despite officials with New Leaf Energy, a Massachusetts-based company proposing to build a 200-megawatt battery facility near Watsonville, urging the board to pass its ordinance on Tuesday. The company has said it prefers to follow a local approvals process but previously told Lookout that it could instead seek approval through state regulators if the county’s plans to pass a local ordinance stall for too long.
Supervisors raised a number of concerns about the county’s proposed ordinance on Tuesday but also emphasized that they want to retain local control over any battery storage facilities developed within the county.
“One of the things that is really important in terms of the decision we’re making today is, do we want to keep local control over battery energy storage facilities being developed in our community, or do we want to leave it to the state?” said Supervisor Justin Cummings.
Cummings, along with the rest of the board, expressed concerns that battery storage projects, like the one proposed near Watsonville, might take the state route if no action is taken to develop local ordinance.
The board voted in the shadow of a January fire at the world’s largest battery storage facility in Moss Landing that has raised concerns among some local residents about the safety of such projects.