Although both local governments have approved zoning for battery energy storage systems, each is also taking extra precautions when dealing with companies that want to place BESS in the city or the county.
The Henderson County Fiscal Court recently approved guidelines for members of governmental bodies to use as grounds for questions and feedback from prospective companies as they go through the process of locating a facility here.
Additionally, the Fiscal Court accepted a plan specific for county employees if an emergency occurred at a battery energy storage system installation.
In the city, the Henderson City Commission OK’d a request from City Manager Buzzy Newman that allows him to hire a consultant that would advise the city during the process of a company locating a system in the city.
“We (city staff) don’t have the expertise,” he said.
Newman’s quote accurately describes what many other officials in towns across the country are also facing as they look for best methods to bring a brand new and ever-changing technology to their municipalities.
At least in the commonwealth, the city of Henderson will be the “first one in the state of Kentucky” to have a BESS, Newman said. There are no other Kentucky counties that have battery energy storage systems, either.
At a recent city commission meeting, Newman advised approval of his request because “time is of the essence due to this project is continuing to move forward and we are on a tight timeframe with this.”
As of Friday, a change of zoning request for a plot of land on South Green Street near Henderson Municipal Power & Light substation #7 had been submitted. A public hearing regarding that request—which had initially been scheduled for the next Henderson-Henderson County Joint Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday—will now be scheduled for the joint planning commission’s meeting on Nov. 5, said HMP&L General Manager Brad Bickett.
But Bickett said that rezoning request was pulled from the Oct. 1 meeting so that city officials could gather information from the consultant it hires before a public hearing is held on it.
Part of Newman’s concern is that the technology surrounding storing energy in batteries is evolving so quickly that governmental agencies tasked with regulating it can’t keep up.
He said that’s weighing on the city staff’s mind—including fire department officials, who are heavily involved in BESS discussions—because of thermal runaway events that have occurred at BESS facilities in the nation and world.
“We’re all concerned,” Newman said.
The proposed site for the city’s BESS site sits near seven residences that are on Old Corydon Road. Across the street from the residences—but still close to the proposed facility—is Matthew 25 Aids Services.
Thermal runaway events occur when a battery gets overheated and catches fire, and then spreads to other batteries. Officials who’ve dealt with them say the only way to put them out is to let them burn out. Because of the chemical nature of the fire, water does not extinguish them.
The city’s consultant will help staff evaluate the application for a BESS. According to Newman, they’ll look at plume and emissions data in the case of a fire, hazardous waste consideration and the technology that a company is proposing to use. The consultant, along with city staff, will also review safety plans and protocol that a company has in place if a thermal runaway event occurs.
HMP&L has signed a contract with NextEra Energy for that company to construct a BESS at the South Green Street location. NextEra will also be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the system.
Bickett said that he’s in favor of the city’s working with a consultant so that safety measures meet expectations.
“I completely agree with the fire department and the city and support their efforts 100%,” he said.
Bickett agreed that battery technology is advancing at a fast pace, but he said that safety improvements regarding the installations are improving, as well. For instance, human entry is no longer allowed into facilities, walls are designed to relieve gas buildup in case of thermal runaway events and modules that contain batteries are separated so that a fire in one won’t move to another.
The land on which the system is proposed is currently zoned general business. For the BESS to be built there, the planning commission would need to approve a zoning change to heavy industrial.
In the county, early plans for an installation proposed by Yellowthroat Energy Storage LLC, a subsidiary of Tenaska Energy, have been submitted. That group plans for a BESS on a 35-plus acre parcel on Toy-Anthoston Road.
Since the county approved a zoning ordinance for BESS in September, no further plans have been submitted, said Brian Bishop, planning commission executive director. The next step for that plan would be a zoning change to heavy industrial, Bishop said.
Schneider said the county’s safety guidelines, which were created by a group of local officials that included volunteer fire department chiefs and firefighters, could be used in the runup to a BESS system locating here by governmental bodies as a way of “identifying issues.”
“Issues and recommendations raised in these guidelines could be used by commission, board or court members to negotiate further restrictions of safety requirements in addition to those spelled out in the county’s BESS ordinance,” according to the guidelines the Fiscal Court recently approved.
Some of the measures include the company’s plan to effectively manage oil spills and water runoff at a BESS. Recommendations in the case of an emergency include requiring a representative of the company to be present and inform local responders how to best use their equipment and manpower. Additionally, that representative must be on the scene within four hours of an emergency, and every hour after that the representative is not there, a fine of $10,000 will be assessed, according to the guidelines.
A plume analysis must be a part of the company’s site plan submissions, and all the company’s emergency response plans must be examined by a neutral, third-party consultant whose summary and opinions can be used by governmental bodies in the company’s process of locating in the county, said the guidelines.
Like Newman, Schneider said a consultant with more expertise is needed.
“Because it’s new here,” the judge-executive said. “We don’t know what we don’t know.”
