Surry County approves ordinance enabling battery energy storage systems after public hearing

The Surry County Board of Supervisors voted April 3 to adopt a zoning text amendment that creates a conditional-use framework for battery energy storage systems in the county.

The ordinance amendment—presented as a zoning text change to define and regulate battery energy storage systems (BESS)—was opened for public hearing on April 3, followed by applicant presentations, public comment and a formal vote approving the amendment.

County planning staff said the amendment was drafted after a private developer requested permission to locate a BESS in Surry County and provided draft language. Staff and the applicant modeled the draft on the county's recent solar ordinance and on ordinances adopted by other Virginia localities. The document incorporates operations, safety, setbacks, buffers, noise limits, emergency-response planning and decommissioning requirements. Attorney Scott Foster (Gentry Locke) said the draft tracks the county's solar ordinance format and borrows legal and technical provisions from several existing ordinances in Virginia.

Ed Rumbler, representing the applicant, described BESS technology and economic benefits, saying the installations typically charge from the grid during low-demand hours and discharge during…