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Resident warns commissioners about proposed Halstead battery storage project and tax implications
Summary
A Halstead-area resident urged the county to examine zoning and tax impacts of a proposed battery energy storage facility he said could store tens of thousands of batteries, raise public-safety concerns and receive long tax abatements under state proposals.
Kevin Henderson, a Halstead resident, told the Harvey County Board of Commissioners on April 1 that a proposed commercial battery-energy storage facility near Halstead raises zoning, tax and public-safety concerns.
Henderson said the proposal would place shipping containers holding “between 64 and 70,000 batteries” in a corner of Halstead and that county planning and zoning staff indicated such battery storage is not allowed in unincorporated county zoning. He said the project proponent described the development as a commercial-scale battery storage site and estimated project costs he described as “$200,000,000.”
Henderson urged commissioners to monitor the situation and consider updating zoning and tax policies. He cited House Bill 2083, which he said failed to reach the governor this year but would have allowed 10-year tax abatements for battery energy storage facilities; Henderson warned that if a 10-year abatement were authorized elsewhere, a city-located project could mean little or no county tax revenue despite large project value.
“I think the county commission needs to be paying attention to this as an unfolding issue that you might want to change some of the zoning and planning regulations and some of the taxing structures,” Henderson said. He added a cautionary note about safety: opponents risk only lost revenue, he said, but if supporters are wrong “the entire county winds up under a dark cloud of toxic smoke and things go horribly wrong.”
County staff and commissioners did not take action at the April 1 meeting but acknowledged the issues raised and the need to track the proposal. Planning and zoning staff had previously told Henderson that battery storage is not permitted in county zoning districts; he asked whether the city of Halstead might permit storage in city limits and whether state-level tax incentives could influence local revenue outcomes.
No formal county decision or regulatory change was made on April 1. Commissioners and staff indicated they would follow up as details about any specific project and related legal or tax changes become available.
