Fauquier planning commission forwards battery storage zoning amendment after narrowing setback language

The Fauquier County Planning Commission on Thursday voted to forward a draft zoning ordinance text amendment on battery energy storage systems to the Board of Supervisors, amending one provision so the 100-foot exterior setback applies only to battery enclosures, not to smaller operations or telecom boxes placed inside a secured fence.

The draft ordinance would establish a tiered definition for battery energy storage systems (BESS): Tier 1 systems under 600 kilowatt‑hours would be permitted by right in all zoning districts as site‑specific supplemental power supplies, while Tier 2 systems of 600 kilowatt‑hours or greater would be treated as utility‑scale and allowed only by special exception in agricultural, industrial park, industrial general and business park districts after a comprehensive plan compliance review. Staff also proposed numerical setbacks of 150 feet from existing residential dwellings, 500 feet from properties with public facilities and 1,000 feet from rights‑of‑way identified as corridors of statewide significance, along with…