Fauquier planning staff revise draft battery storage rules after commissioners raise safety and setback concerns

Planning staff presented a draft zoning-ordinance text amendment March 20 to create a new use category for battery energy storage systems in Fauquier County and agreed to revise setbacks and emergency-response language after commissioners pressed for clearer definitions and fire-safety measures.

The amendment, introduced by staff at the Planning Commission work session, would define two tiers of battery systems, allow small “Tier 1” systems (under 600 kilowatt-hours) by right, and restrict “Tier 2” utility-scale systems (600 kWh or greater) to specific industrial and agricultural zoning districts via special exception and a comprehensive plan compliance review. "This is a zoning ordinance text amendment to establish a new use category for battery energy storage systems," Planning staff said during the presentation.

Why it matters: utility-scale battery sites can be sited near homes, public facilities and environmentally sensitive areas; commissioners said the draft must clearly measure setbacks and minimize wildfire and other safety risks before the matter goes to the Board of Supervisors. A pending application, the Summer Sweet Energy Center, is under appeal and expected to be considered by the Board in April, underscoring the immediacy of the rule-making.

Staff said the draft drew on other jurisdictions, industry guidance and the county’s utility-scale solar rules. Key provisions in the draft include a 15-foot maximum enclosure height (based on typical 12-foot enclosures), a minimum 6-foot fence with anti-climb devices, and a 50-foot-wide landscape buffer measured around the project…