Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Manassas will not host FEMA-backed Church Street battery; BEMA to relocate system outside city
Summary
After staff presented technical and safety information about utility-scale battery systems, council signaled by consensus that Manassas will not participate in FEMA/BEMA’s Church Street battery installation; BEMA may locate the full system outside the city, likely in Harrisonburg.
Manassas city leaders said the city will not participate in a FEMA-backed utility-scale battery installation proposed for the Church Street site, and staff will inform the Virginia Energy Management Authority (BEMA) that the system should be located outside city limits, most likely in Harrisonburg.
City Manager Burke told the council the decision stemmed from concerns raised at a recent public meeting and follow-up technical information gathered by Fire Chief Mills and staff. “We will be communicating to BEMA that the city will not be opting to participate in that program, and BEMA will be locating the battery system outside of the city, most likely in Harrisonburg,” Burke said during the council session.
Why it matters: the FEMA/BEMA project would have provided a large “peak shaving” battery to reduce the city’s billed peak demand and potentially lower…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
