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County staff recommends zoning framework, safety planning and decommissioning rules for battery energy storage systems
Summary
Staff briefed the committee on battery energy storage systems (BESS), proposing zoning distinctions by scale, setbacks, screening and safety plans; supervisors pressed for fire-safety measures, decommissioning bonds and clarity on effects to EV charging goals.
Fairfax County planning staff presented preliminary ideas for zoning and safety standards for battery energy storage systems (BESS), flagging safety, siting and decommissioning as primary issues to be resolved before any ordinance change.
Jackie Camp of the Zoning Administration Division said BESS are modular systems that can range from small accessory batteries for a single property to large, principal-use installations that charge from and discharge to the electrical grid. The county has seen one large-scale BESS pre-application in an R-1 district near Dominion's Occoquan substation; that project went through pre-application but has not submitted a full application, Camp said.
Camp described the regulatory context: federal funding and tax incentives (the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the…
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