Solano supervisors amend county moratorium on battery energy storage systems after public safety and farmland concerns; 5-0 vote

The Solano County Board of Supervisors on an item heard early in the meeting voted unanimously to adopt staff recommendations amending a county moratorium on battery energy storage systems (BESS). The board recorded a 5-0 vote in favor of the staff recommendations.

Residents who live near a proposed NextEra BESS project at Kilkenny and Burns Road urged supervisors to tighten siting limits and exclude agricultural land from BESS development. Many speakers said lithium-ion battery sites pose risks they described as immediate and long term — including fire, toxic gas emissions and soil contamination — and cited the Moss Landing incident as an example.

The concerns animated public comment from local farmers and residents. Farmer Dan Buzos said he lives about one parcel from the proposed site and called the projects “bad, bad, bad,” adding that, “as an almond farmer I’m really concerned about contamination” from operations that could affect soils and crops. A caller identified as Felicia Minyon urged the board to exclude agricultural land from the ordinance and to impose stronger financial assurances and insurance underwriting standards for developers and banks…