Council upholds Planning & Zoning approval for Idaho Power—s 200 MW Boise Bench battery storage; appeal denied

The Boise City Council on Tuesday denied an appeal from neighborhood groups and upheld the Planning & Zoning Commission—s approval of a conditional use permit (CUP24-41) allowing Idaho Power to add a 200-megawatt battery energy storage facility adjacent to the Boise Bench substation at 2001 East Amity Road.

The project would place a 200 MW battery storage array and related substation improvements on approximately 45.6 acres zoned light industrial with airport-influence and wildland-urban-interface overlays. Planning staff and the Planning & Zoning Commission found the installation met the development code—s standards for a conditional use permit, including screening and setbacks; the commission voted 4-2 to approve the modification in February.

Neighbors and appellants, organized as Moxie Ridge Neighbors and others, told council they were not opposed to battery storage technology generally but urged denial of the permit at this location because of safety, air-quality and groundwater concerns, and emergency-notification planning. Appellants cited past substation fires and incidents in other states and raised questions about the potential for hazardous off-gassing in a thermal-runaway event, the adequacy of on-site fire-suppression strategies, and potential long-term soil or groundwater contamination.

Idaho Power representatives said the company conducted an extensive site-selection and procurement process, obtained a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity through the state regulatory process, and reduced the proposed project from an initially requested 300 MW to a 200 MW facility after neighborhood and fire-safety input. Company witnesses said the project had multiple layers of protection: UL- and NFPA-referenced testing at cell/module/unit levels, a battery management system for early detection and isolation, a perimeter wall and gravel surface to remove combustible vegetation, and coordination with the Boise Fire Department on an emergency response plan.

Fire-safety experts from Fire and Risk Alliance and Boise Fire Department staff testified about the required hazard-mitigation analysis, the International Fire Code and industry standards the project would follow, and the training and emergency-response work the fire department will complete before any facility goes into operation. The fire marshal and outside engineers said that containerized, outdoor battery installations differ from indoor rack systems implicated in high-profile incidents and that available event data have not shown uncontrolled off-site contamination in prior outdoor containerized incidents.

Council members asked detailed questions about setbacks (batteries set back roughly 200 feet from adjacent houses and screened by an 11-foot wall), noise mitigation, the proposed 10-foot landscape buffer and walking path along Holcomb Road, and contingency planning for emergencies. Planning staff noted that certain design elements and landscape details remain subject to design review.

After public testimony spanning neighbors, medical and environmental concerns, industry experts, and the fire marshal, the council voted to deny the appeal and uphold the Planning & Zoning Commission—s approval. The roll call recorded six yes votes and the motion carried. Council members said they expected Boise Fire to complete required hazard-mitigation analysis, approve an emergency-response plan and conduct training before the facility would be permitted to operate.

The decision upholds the Planning & Zoning action and allows the applicant to proceed to design-review and the next code-regulated inspections and approvals prior to operation.