Council leases Ramblewood site and authorizes HEC to join 15‑year battery storage agreements

Harrisonburg City Council on July 8 approved a lease of city‑owned land at 2230 Bramblewood Road to the Virginia Municipal Electric Association (VMEA) that will allow installation of a battery energy storage system (BESS), and adopted a companion resolution authorizing Harrisonburg Electric Commission (HEC) to enter into long‑term agreements with the project operator. Both measures passed unanimously.

City Attorney Brown explained the lease is treated as a franchise under Virginia law because the term exceeds five years; VMEA will sublease the site to RWE Clean Energy Assets Holding, which will design, install, own, maintain and ultimately decommission the equipment. The parcel was described in testimony as roughly 11,000 square feet adjacent to existing electric distribution facilities on Bramblewood. The lease term covers a roughly 15‑year operational period, with a one‑year development/construction phase and an up to six‑month decommissioning phase; the lease rate is $1 per year.

HEC General Manager Brian O’Dell and counsel Jordan Bowman walked council through related documents required by the VMEA consortium: a member agreement (Battery Energy Storage System Output Purchase Agreement) that governs cost and benefit allocation among the seven VMEA members, and an interconnection agreement between HEC and RWE for tying the BESS into the local distribution system. Both agreements run longer than 10 years, so council approval under the City Code was required. O’Dell said the installations (one in Manassas and one in Harrisonburg) are planned as 7‑megawatt systems with two‑hour discharge capability (approximately 14 megawatt‑hours per site) and are expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2026.

O’Dell and Brown said the project aims to “shave” monthly wholesale demand peaks by charging batteries during off‑peak hours and discharging at peaks; early analysis presented to council estimated HEC ratepayer savings of about $1.5 million per year in the first five years and approximately $3.1 million total wholesale savings to VMEA members in that same period. The agreements include performance testing, liquidated damages and termination provisions tied to performance; RWE will own and maintain the assets and is contractually responsible for decommissioning and site restoration at contract end. Staff noted noise mitigation, setback and screening considerations and said the local fire department has been consulted on safety and response procedures.

Council voted unanimously to (1) adopt the ordinance granting the lease of city property at 2230 Bramblewood Road to VMEA (agenda item 6f) and (2) adopt a resolution authorizing HEC to enter into the battery output member agreement and the interconnection agreement for terms in excess of 10 years (agenda item 7a). There were no competing bids for the franchise lease; city staff said public notice was provided per state law.